Remembering Squall
by Lartovio
Summary: Squall's been appointed Headmaster of the new Esthar Garden, but in Esthar resides the last person he wants to see. To make it worse, somebody has attacked Rinoa and is after him too. Collab with WayToDawn324. Squall/OC. -The thought that he was a highly functioning killing machine, and he didn't have to think about it, made him shudder.- Chapter nine is finally up!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"There _has _to be someone better qualified." Squall said, trying to keep a cool composure.

Cid shook his head. "I want _you _to do the job."**  
**Squall huffed and ran a hand through his hair, trying to think of some other objection. There was no possible way he was going to do this. No way. He already didn't like being Commander, Headmaster was just too much! "But, who will be Commander here?" Moving too! He would have to pack up his -few- possessions, figure out a way to transport them, he would have to tell Rinoa... she wasn't going to be happy about that. She had _just _finished moving into her new apartment in Balamb. He would have to move to a completely different place and deal with completely different people...**  
**Oh crap. **  
**There was one particular person in Esthar that Squall would literally bend over backward to avoid. One person he wouldn't be able to avoid with this job. Crap.**  
"**You will still be Commander of Balamb Garden in addition to being Headmaster of Esthar Garden." Cid tried to convince Squall.**  
"**I'm sorry Headmaster Cid, but I have to decline." That just meant double the work! That was not an asset, at all. Would he have to commute?**  
**Cid shrugged. "Squall, at least try it. Esthar still isn't the most outgoing of places, and we need to establish a bit of trust between us and them. You're the only person I can think of that would be able to do that. Besides..." Cid seemed to hesitate a little, adjusting his glasses. "You do have connections to President Loire..." He stopped that train of speech and fumbled for something else to say with the fierce glare from Squall. "You really are the best person for the job! The only person I could trust with this. Just try it. Just for a little while."**  
**Squall sighed heavily. "Alright-"**  
"**Thanks Squall." Cid said brightly. "You'll be leaving in three days, I'm sending a bunch of instructors with you as well; Esthar is a bit short on help." **  
**Squall turned to leave the office, but was stopped once more.**  
"**Oh, and Squall? Do you know Micah Wright?" Cid asked. **  
"**Used to. She was in one of my classes... She was training to be a field medic or something." What Squall did not include about what he knew about her was that she tended to annoy him. He remembered her as a bouncy little blonde girl with a silly and slightly obsessive crush on him. Then again, they were fourteen at the time. Generally people change from fourteen to twenty. Hopefully she was one of those people...**  
"**She'll be going with you as well, to be the head doctor at the new Garden." Cid smiled. "That's all."**  
**As he sulked down the hallway, he reflected on the brief meeting in Cid's office. Not only was he moving, taking on a second job, going to have to deal with his father, but he was going to be reunited with his terror of the eighth grade. This was turning out to be a fantastic day.

* * *

After a long day of reading and signing papers he didn't remember half of, Squall finally left Balamb Garden at around seven at night and headed for town to tell Rinoa of his recent 'promotion'.**  
**_I'm sure this isn't going to go well,_He thought as he pulled up to Rinoa's apartment. He made his way up to the second floor and knocked on the fifth door down three times. The sound was warped with his gloved hand against the metal door. **  
"**Coming!" Rinoa yelled from inside the apartment. The door flew open to a dark haired young woman. Her face lit up when she saw who her visitor was. He should know by now he didn't have to knock, he had a key after all. "Hey Squall! Come on in." She chirped as she motioned for him to enter.**  
**Inside, Squall saw many empty boxes stacked up all around the room. He felt a bit guilty as he looked at them. "How's your new apartment?" He asked.**  
"**It's nice. I'm sure it will be better once I get some bookshelves and all. I need more places to shove all this crap." She mumbled jokingly. "How was your day?" Rinoa asked.**  
"**That's kinda what I needed to talk to you about." Squall said cautiously, not meeting her gaze.**  
"**Oh, okay. Let's sit down then." They both maneuvered around the empty boxes and other various things strewn across the floor to a small couch on the other side of the room. Rinoa plopped down beside him and smiled. "Okay, shoot."**  
**Squall sighed and looked around the room; anywhere but at Rinoa's face. He hadn't planned on what to say to her. Honestly, he had hoped she wasn't home so he could put it off. Not like he had more than three days to do so anyways. "Well, today at work I got a promotion..."**  
"**Squall! That's great! What kind of promotion?" Rinoa asked eagerly, slipping her hand into his gloved one. **  
"**No, actually... It's not that great." He said with a slight grimace. **  
**Rinoa's smile faltered and she cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean? How is that not good?"**  
"**You know about how they've been building a Garden in Esthar?" Squall asked cautiously. **  
**Rinoa snorted rather ungracefully. "Yeah, it's what's been keeping you at work until midnight lately. Not to mention it's the only thing on the news anymore."**  
"**The construction is finished. Cid appointed me Headmaster. But I'm also supposed to be Commander of Balamb at the same time." Rinoa's face fell. "I'll have to commute. But I'll spend most of my time in Esthar... So I'll have to move too."**  
**Rinoa laughed nervously, without any humor. "But, you told Cid no. Right? Please tell me you told him no..."

Squall shrugged. "I tried. He basically said it wasn't an option."

"That's completely unfair! Why should you have to do something you don't want to?" She shouted angrily.

"It's just my job, Rin." Squall said evenly.

"How can you be okay with this!"

"I never said I was. But I'm not going to throw a tantrum about it like a little kid." He said bluntly.

"What are you trying to say?" Rinoa asked, yanking her hand out of Squall's.

Squall blinked. "I'm not implying anything Rinoa. You're just blowing this out of proportion."

Rinoa jumped to her feet. "I am not! This is totally unfair! He's _making _you go!" She shouted, unknowingly proving Squall's point.

"Rinoa, he can't _make_me do anything. This is simply my job. I go where it takes me."

"I'm your girlfriend!" She shouted. "Don't you ever think of me before your stupid job? Did you even consider the fact that I'll have to pack up and move again?" She asked, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"If it wasn't for my 'stupid' job we wouldn't have ever met, Rinoa! You were the first thing that came to my mind! Nobody ever asked you to move either! In this situation, nobody is being forced to do anything. That's your choice completely."

"Fine then! I won't move. Get out of my apartment!" She yelled, her lip quivering.

Squall clenched his jaw. "Whatever." He quickly stood and left the apartment, all the while expertly maneuvering around the empty boxes.

Rinoa jumped over the back of the couch and managed to make it to the door before he did, opening it for him and making sure to slam it behind him nice and loud. The neighbor above Rinoa came out of their room and shouted down at Squall to be quiet.

Squall stuck his hands in his pockets as he walked down the stairs back down to ground level. Lucky him that it wasn't too cold yet, because he was walking home. His keys were on her couch.

Over and over again, he replayed the conversation-turned-argument in his head. He just couldn't figure out what he said to offend her. And no matter how hard he had tried to diffuse the situation, she had blown it up in his face. She was such a drama-queen. She really had been the first thing to come to mind when he realized he'd have to move. Squall doubted himself sometimes, thinking that it was his fault they fought so often. He blamed it on his incompetence to interact with other people.

But the more he thought about it, the more he realized he was wrong. He did everything he could for her. Around her, he tried to lighten up. He might not have been the most romantic guy on the planet... no, he knew he was the least romantic... but he tried! He had gone to _Irvine_for advice, more than once. He gave his all to this relationship, but he didn't see it going anywhere. He didn't see Rinoa giving much.

_Maybe this is for the best. Rinoa and I have been fighting too much recently. _He thought, as he walked down the dark cold dirt road to Garden. There were no streetlights, the only thing giving off light was the thing moon. _Maybe we were just never meant to be in the first place... _Squall kicked the ground, sending up a cloud of dust. He just needed to sleep, she just needed a chance to think things over. They would be fine again in a few days. But is that how healthy relationships are supposed to work?

He entered Garden tired, cold and a bit confused. He briskly made his way to the elevator, and from the elevator to his dorm. He changed out of his damp clothes, from the cursed fog that was always drifting around Balamb, and sat down with his laptop.

He opened his email and found one new message from Headmaster Cid. It was a list of people going to Esthar.

Squall,

This is the list of instructors and staff that will be working in Esthar Garden.

Head Doctor: Micah Wright

Assistant to the Headmaster: Quistis Trepe

Instructor of Marksmanship: Irvine Kinneas-

_Quistis isn't too much of a surprise, but Irvine... I hope Headmaster Cid knows what he's doing. _Squall thought, while finishing reading the list.

Even as he read through the rest of the list, he was still in shock that Cid had made Irvine an instructor. Sure, Irvine was a good marksman. But Squall still didn't think it was a such a good idea to let him teach marksmanship. He was more likely to blow some poor kid's brains out and scar them all for life than teach them... But, Cid's the boss, what he says goes.

Squall yawned and stretched a bit. Realizing how tired he was and how much work he had ahead of him in the next week, Squall shut off his laptop. He switched off the lamp beside his bed and crawled under the covers. Not moments after, he was sound asleep.

Had he realized what was in store for him in the next week, Squall would not have fallen asleep as easily. In fact, he would have skipped town, changed his name, and never come back. But Squall was happily ignorant of what life was about to dump on him as he slept a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

**_Author's Notes:_**

**_Lartovio: _**_Thanks to MyKingdomFan for the review! 3 We're supposed to post on Sunday nights, but we can't do that so we're posting tonight. WayToDawn is kinda my best friend, by the way :3 This isn't our first time writing together either. WayToDawn, it seems like just eight months ago I introduced you to writing :') Look at you now. (She thought of the name of this. Brilliant person she is :P) Enjoy the new chapter~!_

**_WayToDawn324: _**_One review! Whoo! First milestone met! Thanks MyKingdomFan for your review, you are a wonderfully, amazing person. :) I hope you like this next chapter. We were originally planning on trying to post every Sunday, but plans have been made and we are not able to this week. And Lartovio, I am extremely grateful for you introducing me to writing. So... everybody enjoy the newest installment of Remembering Squall. (^ Awe shucks. You're making me blush. :D)_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Irvine stepped off the train and onto the platform. Thanks to his insane amounts of luggage, he was one of the last of the people to get off. He had also been the last one on. Selphie, his ride to the train station, had overslept and he had a heck of a time getting the heavy sleeper up. Then all the way there she had made him near insane by helping him memorize her train song. He loved the girl, but she never stopped talking sometimes.

But at the moment, that was the least of his worries. After almost two years in Trabia with Selphie, Balamb was sweltering hot. He had gotten used to the constant below freezing temperatures of Trabia, and Balamb was about to have him dead from heatstroke. He wore only a loose T-shirt, jeans and his hat, but that didn't matter. He was hot. And taking the hat off was not an option either.

He adjusted his backpack on his shoulder as he approached an opening in the crowd and saw a familiar face in all of it. "Squall!" He called out, setting down his gun case to wave over his head so that Squall could locate him.

Squall pushed his way through the crowd, making his way to the cowboy-hatted gun case-carrying man on the platform. Squall shook his head, taking two of the three gun cases from Irvine. "How many guns did you have to bring? And how in the world did you get them through security?" Squall chuckled as Irvine struggled to drag the two rifle cases and three suitcases.

He frowned that Squall could somehow find humor in it. Him of all people. "It wasn't easy, I'll tell you that. Plus, Selphie was too busy to help me pack... so I had to do it by myself and I'm not good at making the best use of space..."

Squall shoved Irvine's various pieces of luggage in the trunk of his car. The keys of which had been stealthily retrieved while Rinoa was out. The two of them got in the car and as soon as Squall had started the car, Irvine turned the Air Conditioning on all the way to cold.

"Whoa! What's up with that?" Squall asked as he turned it off.

Irvine turned it on again. "I am flipping hot, man. Trabia is below freezing all year around!"

Squall stared at the cowboy, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards in a weird kind of smile. "It's only seventy degrees though..."

Irvine returned the stare, not daunted at all by the stormy gaze. "Go spend two years in Trabia, then come back and tell me you're not about to die of a heatstroke." He said.

Squall just shook his head, started the car and headed down the long dirt road toward Garden. It was autumn, but the leaves had not yet began to change colors. They only did once it started snowing. Even then, it only snowed at night when it was coldest, and it never lasted until noon. They say that they're are only two seasons in Balamb; Summer and December, the only time it ever snowed.

They drove on in comfortable silence, Squall to his thoughts and Irvine to staring out the window. Irvine was a pretty patient man, mostly silent as well. that was why Squall enjoyed his company much more compared to that of any of his other friends. Quistis had a need for constant conversation, even if it was pointless small talk. Selphie blabbered even if nobody listened, and Zell couldn't sit still more than five minutes. Irvine, on the other hand, was a trained sniper. His job required him to sit still without and conversation for hours, and in some cases, days. The two seldom talked as their paths almost never met, but Squall still felt closest to him out of all the people he knew. Other than maybe Rinoa.

"So... how have you and Rinoa been?" Irvine asked. While Irvine could keep silent, he did want to know how his friend's life was going. Little did he know that at the time, that was the wrong question to ask.

"Im' not sure... I don't want to talk about it." Squall sighed. He was still confused about what happened the night before.

"That bad?" Irvine questioned.

"Yeah."

"And you and Selphie?" Squall inquired shortly.

Irvine nodded. "I'm thinking I might... I might make it permanent soon. If you know what I mean..."

There was a bit of an awkward silence, then Irvine grinned. "So, I heard you're going to be Headmaster of Esthar Garden."

Squall grunted. "I'm supposed to keep up being Commander of B Garden and Headmaster of Esthar Garden." He shook his head. "I don't know how I'm going to be able to do it. What about you? Instructor?"

"Eh, Cid talked me into it. I told him little kids weren't really my thing so he said I would teach the most advanced class. He's good."

Squall nodded in agreement. Looked like Cid had been busy lately. Squall wondered who else of the staff leaving the day after had been conned into the job. "Too good."

A few hours and a stack of paperwork after returning to Garden with Irvine, Squall found out about a meeting Cid had arranged for the staff that would be going to Esthar. It must have been in the email he received the night before, the one he'd not scrolled to the bottom of before falling asleep.

Squall shut the door of his office behind him as he walked into the hallway. He briskly made his way to Irvine's borrowed dorm to make sure he knew what was going on. It was likely he hadn't heard of the meeting either. Why was it that whenever something important was going on, he was always the last to know five minutes before it was scheduled to happen?

Squall knocked on the door and Irvine threw the door open quickly. "What? Oh, hey Squall. What is it?"

"There's a meeting for the staff that are going to Esthar in five minutes, come on." Squall practically ordered the cowboy.

"I was already on my way." Irvine came out and locked the door behind him.

They took the elevator up and went into the second door in the long hallway. They entered a conference room that Squall had been in many times before. Squall and Irvine took seats at a long table in the middle of the room.

Apparently they weren't that late after all. The only people there were him and Irvine, Cid, and Micah.

When Squall saw Micah across the room, an eyebrow shot up. She was not the same girl he remembered at all. She seemed a lot calmer now, for one. Her hair was shorter and pulled into a neat ponytail. She wore jeans and a simple button up shirt. She looked... better. A lot better. She turned around from where she had stood talking to Cid and caught Squall looking at her.

She smiled and waved at him. "Hello Commander. Long time no see." She said sweetly while sitting down across from him.

Squall coughed slightly and looked down at papers in front of him on the table. The room had filled up while Squall was daydreaming. Quistis now sat beside Irvine and the two were chatting. Squall saw about ten people in the room, not including himself.

Quistis glanced over at him. "I heard about your promotion, Squall. Congratulations." She didn't say it warmly.

Squall said thanks nonetheless.

Cid stood up at the head of the table and called for everyone's attention. "So you've all heard about Esthar Garden's completion. This is a big step for Garden. Establishing trust with Esthar is going to be a good thing for Balamb. For such a small country to make an alliance, or even just connection, with such a big and powerful nation is no small feat. Through Esthar Garden we will be able to establish it faster.

"I've chosen you all to accompany Commander Squall Leonhart, now also Headmaster of the new Garden. Quistis Trepe will be the Headmaster's assistant..." Squall could have sworn her face darkened at mention of her new job. He wondered if she had been conned into the role as himself and Irvine had been.

Micah half-listened to Cid babble off the list of people going to E Garden. He also listed people already there, boring things like that that she didn't need to know.

She wouldn't ever get to do much outside the medical wing of E Garden anyways.

For three years now, she had been working under Kadowaki and going out on missions as a field medic. She had been content with her job, happy actually, but she was rather ecstatic about her new one. She would be head doctor. She would call the shots for the medical wing, and Cid had even mentioned something about how big an influence she would have on doctors all over Esthar. She would get to work with some of the most brilliant minds in the world; as well as use some of the most advanced technology around.

Yeah, she was about to scream, she was so happy.

She glanced over the edge of the papers in her hand at the Comman- Headmaster, across the table. It was silly, but she felt her eighth grade crush coming back. He was no longer the awkward, silent teenager, but a confident, if a bit stoic, and very becoming man.

His stormy gaze flicked toward her and she looked back down at her papers, scanning them and feigning interest. She blushed a little in spite of herself. He was handsome...

Before she knew it, Cid stopped talking and people began rising from their seats. "Meeting adjourned." Cid said warmly.

She sat where she was for a moment, really reading the papers in her hands this time. By the time she had finished, Squall was headed for the door. After a brief internal battle with her fourteen year old self, she decided she would follow him.

She stood up from her chair and ran to catch up with him. She found that he hadn't been in a rush and was only a few feet outside the door. Seeing as she had been in a rush, she nearly ran him over. Well, more like smacked into him. She doubted her petite self would even make him stumble though. "Uh, hey Squall." She said as he turned to look at her. She could have smacked herself for addressing him like that. He was the flipping Commander and Headmaster!

"Hey." He replied shortly.

She scrambled for something else to say. Otherwise, it was going to get awkward real fast. "You remember me? Micah Wright?" She asked.

"I remember."

Ah, Squall. Always was a man of few words... or almost no words at all. "Been a long time, huh?" She said, playing with the papers she still held nervously.

"Yeah."

They slipped into silence for a moment. They could hear people talking in the room over. Heck, with the dead silence they were in, they could have heard someone whispering in space.

She was beginning to think that it hadn't been such a good idea to approach him. They would have to talk eventually though, considering their positions. Why not know each other first? "So, uh, how has your life been?" She asked nervously.

"Good, I guess." What a lie that was. But, what else are you supposed to say when someone asks that? "No, it sucks. My dad is the freaking President of Esthar and it's not like I knew that until I was twenty. My 'girlfriend' hates me for the moment, and I just had another job forced down my throat." Squall figured that wasn't really an acceptable answer. "...What about yours?" He asked.

"Good, good." She nodded. They stood staring at each other for a moment before she said, "Well, it was nice seeing you again." She turned on her heel and walked back into the conference room, trying not to make it look rushed, but failing.

"You... too?" He said as he watched her retreating quickly.

Irvine walked out just as Micah went back in. He quirked an eyebrow at Squall as she passed, pointing over his shoulder to her. "You and Micah?"

"She just said hello." Squall said, turning and walking toward the elevator.

"Oh come on, I saw you stare at her through the entire thing." He said mischievously.

"I did not." Squall denied, he could feel the heat rising to his face. He might have glanced at her once or twice, but she was right across from him. It almost couldn't be helped.

"Sure Squall. Whatever you say." Irvine grinned at Squall and got into the elevator with him. "But you've got to admit, she's pretty cute."

"I have Rinoa, Irvine." Squall said irritably.

Irvine nodded, wondering how long that would actually last. Squall didn't seem so happy when he said it, he also didn't seem sure about it. Things hadn't always been peachy between him and Rinoa. There was a reason she had been referred to as 'Princess'. "Need any help with packing?" Irvine asked as the elevator doors opened.

Squall stuck his hands in his pockets. "I'll be fine. There isn't that much to pack anyway."

"See ya' then." Irvine said as he walked into his room.

Squall walked a bit further down the hall and unlocked his own dorm door. He threw his keys on the table beside the door and threw his jacket on the couch. He didn't have much else to do the rest of the day, other than a bit of unfinished paperwork in his office.

He stretched out on his bed and sighed. He didn't mean to fall asleep, but he didn't wake up until the next morning.

* * *

Squall pulled out a length of the clear packing tape, and stuck one end of it to the box, holding it down so that it wouldn't come off. He set the roll of tape on top of the box and reached for the scissors with his other hand. He grabbed them and stuck them in his mouth, picking up the roll again. The tape was doubled over and stuck together now, rendering that piece completely useless. He tried to pull it apart, but his gloves stuck to the tape and when he pulled, his hand slipped out of the glove, leaving him with scissors in his mouth, and glove dangling from a piece of barely sticky tape.

Then someone knocked on the door.

Squall grunted and spit out the scissors. He removed his hand from the one inch of tape actually stuck to the box, and pulled that glove off. Faster than trying to wrestle the one glove from out of it's sticky and clear tape prison. "I hate tape." Squall grunted.

Whoever was at the door interrupted his angry grumblings by knocking a second time. And it was pretty early in the day for even a SeeD to come knocking. Squall was rather tempted to ignore it.

"What now?" He growled to himself and went to answer the door.

He swung the door open and found himself face to face with his greatest fear, Micah Wright. Suddenly he felt very awkward and aware of how... terrible, he looked. He was still wearing the sweatpants and T-shirt he slept in, and he hadn't brushed his hair. The only thing he'd done to it was run his hand through it in frustration. Several times. Come to think of it, he was sure he looked like crap. And there she was, standing in his doorway at seven in the morning, looking all cute in a sundress and a pretty little jacket... Had it come to this? He now thought in terms of 'cute' and 'pretty'?

"Um, hey." Micah said a bit awkwardly. "Did I wake you? Because if I did I can come back later..."

Squall resisted the urge to slap himself on the forehead, turn around, shut the door and pretend it never happened. "No. I was just packing." Micah peeked around him into the room, there was only one box. "I just started..." Squall said, running his gloveless hand through his hair.

"...Would you like some help?" She offered kindly. Micah had done all her packing the day before after the meeting.

Squall sighed slightly. He had no idea how to pack. He'd lived in this room darn close to his entire life... he didn't even know how to tape up a cardboard box. "Sure." He said defeatedly. He opened the door wider and walked away, letting her walk in.

Micah looked around. There was hardly anything to see. A few knickknacks on his his desk and bookshelves, the rest of the space was taken up by SeeD manuals, textbooks, and papers. Most likely things to do with his work as Commander. If there was that much paperwork laying around from the one job, Micah wondered what it would look like with two jobs.

Her heart about stopped beating as she frantically searched the room with her eyes.

There was no television.

"Are you okay?" Squall asked, glancing at her from the corner of his eye where he sat trying to pull tape off the single box without damaging it.

She grew up on television! Even as a SeeD, she had watched cartoons into her late teens. And she was only twenty. "Huh? Oh, fine!" She said as she sat down on the floor across the box from him. "So... You've never moved before, have you?" She guessed.

"No, not really." Squall replied.

She smiled at him. "I can tell." She reached for the tape, shooing his hands away with her own. "Let me help." She ripped the tape expertly, leaving a little square of it on the box. She took the roll of tape from him and ripped off a long piece, sticking it to the box. Then she took another and put it the other way across the top, making a plus sign of the shiny tape. "There you go." She said, beaming at him. "I'm an expert at this. My boyfriend used to move all the time."

How is it she can do that, when I can't? Squall asked himself frustratedly. Then it dawned on him what she had just said.

Seeing the look on his face, Micah quickly corrected herself. "Um, ex-boyfriend. We didn't even really date that long. He found out I was SeeD and that was the end of it... He's not too fond of the SeeD's work." Micah twisted a strand of her hair nervously, mentally kicking herself for having created another awkward moment.

"Oh, well that's nice- well not nice for you obviously. But... yeah." He stopped himself there and grabbed another box, busying himself with packing. I feel like Laguna. He shook his head. Where the heck had that weird thought come from? Squall moved over to one of the many bookcases lining the wall and began shoving books in the box haphazardly.

"No!" Micah said, scooting over to sit beside him, once again pushing his hands away from his work. "You don't just throw books in a box like that, it'll be too heavy to lift." She explained, taking them out one at a time.

Squall cocked an eyebrow at her. He swept the many books off the shelf into the box with his arm, they landed in the box with a small crunch as a tin can of pencils was smushed. He stood and lifted the box with ease, though it was full with books.

Micah smiled shyly, ducking her head and hiding behind her hair. "Well it might be easy for you, showoff. But you have to think of the movers..." She said.

Squall set the box down again, the corners of his mouth twitched upward in an awkward little smile. "Fine, we'll do it your way."

"Okay!" She said, clapping her hands together. "Do you have any stuffed animals or anything to put in with the books?" Her eyes widened a bit at what she asked. "Uh, or, uh, blankets, or uh... anything light?" She bit her lip.

Squall chuckled. After a second of thought, he walked into his bedroom, motioning for her to follow. She stood up and walked after him, trying not to blush. She was such a klutz with words.

He opened his small closet and reached into the farthest corner on the highest shelf up. Before she could see what he had, he spun around with his hands behind his back. "I have never shown anyone this." He deadpanned, a voice as serious as if he were sending someone to their death. "Not even Rinoa." Micah had forgotten... he still had a girlfriend. "You cannot tell anybody that I kept this!"

She nodded eagerly. "Come on, show me what it is. It can't be that bad." She watched as he pulled his hand out from behind his back and held out with both hands...

A little stuffed lion.

Micah's eyes lit up and she walked forward, bending down to examine it. It was well-loved, that's for sure. A little gold, almost turned gray from wear, lion. With a half of a raggedy mane and cute little black button eyes. Mismatched buttons, mind you.

She squeaked and looked at Squall with a serious face. "Can I hold him?"

The man nodded and she gingerly took the toy. She examined it up and down, analyzing every little patch and stitch on the animal. She grinned up at Squall. "How long have you had this?"

He shrugged as he took it back, playing with the well-preserved remains of a yarn mane. "Ever since I can remember. It used to have a tag with a name on it... but, well, I tore it off." The marker on the tag had long worn off when he took it off. He had always puzzled over it, trying to read what the smudges said. He knew now that the name on it had been Squall Loire.

"Well, I can honestly say, I've never known a guy who kept a stuffed animal up until they were twenty." Micah said.

Squall looked down at his feet, hiding embarrassment.

"It's not a bad thing!" She said fixing her mistake. "I think it's sweet." She smiled.

"Just don't tell anybody about him, uh, it. Okay?" He almost sounded like he was begging her.

She rolled her eyes. Squall and his pride. It wouldn't be the end of the world for people to know the man to own a stuffed animal. "Okay, I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks." He said quietly, setting the small childhood toy gently into the box back in front of the bookshelf.

An hour later, they'd gotten all the books packed up along with what clothes Squall wasn't taking in a suitcase. All thanks to Micah, of course. Squall still hadn't figured out how to use the tape, much to Micah's amusement.

Micah was scolding him about not wrapping the breakables before packing them when the phone rang, sparing Squall of her 'wrath'.

He got up from the floor and answered without looking at the caller ID. "Commander Leonhart."

"Squall! Th-They tried to k-kill me!" Rinoa shouted through the phone and her sobs.

Squall's expression took on one of concern. "Rinoa? What happened? Are you okay? Where are you?" He asked anxiously, waiting for the crying girl on the other end to answer.

"This is all _your _fault!" Rinoa shouted angrily.

"Whoa, calm down! Did you get hurt? Where are you at, Rinoa? Answer me, come on!" Squall looked apologetically at Micah.

"Back at my apartment!" She sobbed.

"I'll be right there." He flipped the phone shut. "She never freaking answered if she was okay." He muttered. "Hey, Micah, thanks for the help, really. But I have to go."

She nodded and stood. "I understand. I hope Rinoa's alright. I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" She grabbed her jacket off the back of a chair and walked to the door while Squall walked back to his bedroom. He had never gotten dressed.

"Yeah, see you then."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Squall yanked the keys out of the ignition and slammed the door shut, taking the stairs to Rinoa's apartment three at a time. One of the officers shouted at him that he couldn't go up there, so he waved around his SeeD badge. Judging by the body bag on the ground, Rinoa had obviously used her pistol to take the guy out. At least she was safe though.

He didn't bother with knocking, he shoved his key in the door and barged in. She was there laying on the couch, curled up in a ball. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed into a cushion. All of the boxes were gone, so Squall assumed she kept true to the promise of not moving again.

At his sudden arrival, she gasped and sat up straight. Her mascara was running and there was a cut on her arm. Squall figured the attacker must have used a knife. Thank Hyne she was pretty fast when she needed to be.

"Just go away!" She shouted, faceplanting into the pillows again.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were okay, don't yell at me." He growled.

"I don't want you here! Go away." Her words were muffled by the pillows. They were also real. She meant it.

Squall hesitated in the doorway for a moment. Rinoa had been upset before, she had told him to leave her alone, but she was always fine with him comforting her as long as he was silent. This time she didn't even want him in her home. "Fine, I'm sorry for caring." He huffed and turned on his heel to leave. He threw his key on the carpet in the doorway on the way out. "I'm leaving tomorrow... just don't bother to call me anymore." Squall said as he slammed the door.

He stomped back down the stairs and got into his car, slamming that door as well. He sat there for a moment, thinking about what he just said.

It felt right. He didn't regret it. After being in this so called 'relationship' for two years, with it not going anywhere, it seemed like the right thing to say. She didn't want him around; well she wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. He stuck his keys in the ignition and drove off.

Tomorrow he would go and live in a country he'd scarcely spent any time in, with people he'd hardly spent any time with, in a brand new Garden under his control. Now that he didn't have Rinoa weighing him down, maybe he could enjoy this a little. Convince Cid to get someone else to be Commander of Balamb and he might even be happy...

Especially if that meant more time with Micah. Squall had enjoyed her company that day more than he would like to admit. Way more than he would ever tell anyone too.

* * *

Micah yawned as they stood on the landing pad, waiting for the Ragnarok. From what Micah had overheard through her sleepy haze this morning, the president of Esthar had insisted on sending it for the group coming to Esthar. Micah, having not spent much time anywhere but the cafeteria and the infirmary due to her job, wasn't quite sure who the President of Esthar was. She figured she'd find out soon enough though. On the Ragnarok, the trip would take mere hours instead of two days by train.

Most everyone going to Esthar had arrived at the landing pad now, ambling around and some exchanging goodmornings. By Micah's count, everyone was there, except for Squall.

Usually he would be one of the first people there, being Mr. punctual and all, but he was the very last that morning. After a few more minutes of Squall still not being there, the giant airship arrived, sending things flying all over the landing pad. The group's cardboard boxes and suitcases were loaded on, then the passengers.

"Morning." She heard a groggy voice say behind her. Micah tilted her head up and behind her she found Squall Leonhart, looking as if he was barely able to stand up.

"Hey, you're a bit late." She said, her own voice still laced with traces of sleepiness.

"Yes, I realized that." Squall answered with a sigh.

"Why?" She asked simply, stifling a yawn as the other people boarded the ship, taking their sweet time. She just wanted to get in the ship so she could sit down, and maybe sleep more. She had worked an eight p.m. to four a.m. shift last night, her last shift in that infirmary.

"I overslept." He said shortly. Micah wished she could say the same.

"You don't seem like the type to oversleep very often." Micah observed bluntly. She was a klutz with words when fully awake; half asleep, she was better with Duct tape over her mouth.

"Yeah, well I didn't exactly have a good day yesterday." He snapped at her bitterly.

"Oh, sorry." Micah apologized, shrinking away a little.

Squall sighed. "It's not your fault. I'm sorry for snapping at you." Generally Squall would have just sighed, but he wanted to keep the conversation going. He wouldn't have done that normally... but after last night, he just felt a bit lonely. Maybe the whole thing was effecting him a little more than he thought.

Micah smiled slightly. People made Squall sound much worse than he really is. He's a sweet guy, as long as you're on his good side. Otherwise, be scared for your life. "I forgive you." They began walking toward the ramp to board the airship. "If you don't mind me prying, what happened yesterday?" She asked hesitantly.

"Got into a fight with Rin..." He stopped, speaking and talking. "Got into a fight with my ex-girlfriend last night." Squall admitted, shoving his hands in his pockets. In his haste last night to finish packing, he hadn't left out a pair of gloves to wear that day.

"Oh. That doesn't sound too good..."

"You don't say." Squall said sarcastically, giving her a bit of a smirk.

Micah rolled her eyes. "Lemme alone, I'm half asleep. Let's just get on the airship, 'kay?" She hooked her arm through Squall's and pulled him along side her on to the Ragnarok. They were the very last to board.

Squall and Micah took seats beside each other in the back. After they took off, Micah pulled something shiny and bulky out of her pocket. Squall leaned over to look at it, trying to figure out what it was.

She flipped a little switch on the side and a screen lit up on it. On one side there was an arrow pad, and buttons on the other. The four buttons had shapes on them.

"What's that?" Squall asked as the thing blared a little tune. She turned the volume off.

"Um... A video game. Don't you...? You've never played one?" She asked it as if the prospect of him saying no would make the world stop spinning. At the expression on his face, Micah continued to explain while playing the game. Not once had she met a boy that hadn't even heard of a video game. Seldom she met one that didn't play them at some point in their life, too.

"It's an RPG. That stands for Role Playing Game. You get to play as those people." She put her finger on one of the characters that was swinging around a blade that suspiciously resembled a key.

"It looks like the simulators Garden uses." He observed, watching the little character kill little monsters. In comparison to some Squall had seen, those were almost cute.

"Exactly. They're meant to be like that." She smiled as she tapped the buttons furiously. "The point of it right now is to kill all these monsters and get to the big boss-"

"Don't you get enough of killing?" Squall asked, unconsciously wrinkling his nose a bit.

Micah paused the game and resisted the urge to tease him about the nose scrunching. It was too cute to risk having him stop. ...What was the question again? Oh, right. "Well... I never get to fight. Don't get me wrong, I can; but I never get to. Not exactly in my job description, you know?" Her smile held a bit of sadness.

An instructor approached the two of them from behind, the direction of the cabins. Strangely neither Micah nor Squall recognized him from the meeting a few days before. (They must have been too busy staring at each other.) "Excuse me," The instructor said, "I need to borrow Headmaster Squall."

Micah nodded. "Go ahead. I'll be here."

Squall stood up and followed the instructor. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't remember the man. He was pretty good with faces normally, but he must have been a bit distracted that day. "What seems to be the problem?" He asked as they rounded a corner. They seemed to be getting deep into the ship.

"The engine seems to have failed." The instructor answered.

Squall raised an eyebrow. "I'm not really a mechanic. In fact, I know next to nothing about machinery." He said.

The instructor shut the door to the engine room behind them as they entered. It was a large room with machinery all over the walls behind iron grates.

"I mean, it all looks fine to me, but if you think there's a problem with it I'm sure the pilot could help." Squall practically had to yell to be heard over the loud hum of the large machinery.

Wait. If the engines had failed, wouldn't they be rapidly losing altitude? And wasn't an actual mechanic -the one to be head of machinery in Esthar- on board? And much more useful than him? Squall realized it was not good that he didn't recognize him.

Before he could so much as search himself for a weapon, Squall was hit in the side and knocked to the ground. He heard a sickening crunch and it took him only a moment to realize that it was his ribs breaking under a crowbar. He hit the iron floor and gritted his teeth, holding a hand over his ribs where he had been hit. The breath had been knocked out of him and he could hardly draw a breath.

"Sorry, Headmaster." The man said it mockingly as he stood over Squall with a crowbar in hand. "A gun just would have made too much noise." He raised above his head and came down.

Squall managed to roll to the side some, but the pain in his side slowed him down and the blow caught him on the back of his head. He cried out and gasped for air. For a few agonizing moments, his vision went in and out. He began to see colors that weren't there, and then his vision went out completely, his consciousness along with it.

The man raised the metal bar to strike again, when he heard the Commander's little blonde friend calling out. He dropped the bar and bolted. He grabbed a parachute and was out the bay doors in the blink of an eye. He knew he would be getting it for not finishing the job himself, but there was little chance he would survive after a blow to the head like that.

Micah wandered down hallways and staircases in the direction Squall and the mystery man had went. She realized after a few moments of sitting there that engine failure didn't seem plausible. They were still in the air, after all. "Squall!" So either the man was very stupid, or not a good person. She knew Squall could handle himself... but... "Squall!" She called out again, tapping on the thick metal door of the engine room. It was a dead end. She heard metal clanging on metal and her eyes went wide. She battled the handle for a moment, and swung the door open. "Oh Hyne, Squall!" Micah ran to Squall and knelt down beside him. There was blood streaming from the open would on the back of his head and a bloodied crowbar laying on the ground beside him. she frantically searched the room with her eyes, seeing if the attacker was still in the room. He had most likely fled when he heard her.

"Help!" She screamed. "Help!" She tried to staunch the blood flowing from his head injury in vain. She pulled in one more breath and screamed for help.

She heard hurried footsteps seconds later. Irvine and Quistis rushed into the room along with a few other people. They paused only a moment on the threshold before they realized what had happened.

"What in Hyne's name happened?" Irvine asked as he sprinted to his friend's side, kneeling beside Micah.

"I don't know, I don't know, but I think it had something to do with the man who asked for Squall's help a few minutes ago." Micah replied. Due to the nature of her job she was far from squeamish of a little blood. But she was scared for the life of her friend. The last thing she wanted to do was panic, though. That would only make things worse for sure. But Hyne, there was a lot of blood. Her hands were covered from trying to prevent him from bleeding, and it was pooling on the floor. The injury stretched from the base of his neck to the center of his skull. At this rate he could bleed to death. Or near to it. "We've only got so much time. We have to do something."

Without thought or instruction, Irvine ripped a sleeve off his jacket and handed it to Micah. She took it, balled it up and held it against the wound on Squall's head. The edges instantly turned a dark red.

Very gently, Irvine lifted his friend from the ground. Squall made no noise of discomfort. He was out hard, and that was both good and bad. Squall's head fell back, but Micah supported it, pushing it as hard as she could on the gash. "I have some supplies up in my bag. A simple first aid kit, but it will be better than nothing." Micah said hurriedly as she struggled to match Irvine's long stride as he went up the stairs.

With her free hand, Micah swatted away a pillow on a bed in the room they entered. Irvine laid Squall out on his stomach. Micah ducked underneath Irvine's arm to keep pressure on Squall's head. Someone sat the first aid kit down and walked away, quietly shutting the door behind them.

Micah ordered Irvine to hold his ruined jacket sleeve while she pulled out things from her kit. She didn't have much at all. Some antiseptic, mild painkillers, cotton balls and gauze, sleeping aids, that was about it. She had used the same first aid kit over and over and it desperately needed to be replaced. That was moved up to first on her to-do list.

Micah tugged on Squall's jacket trying to get it off, then Irvine yanked it off for her. She did a brief check for other injuries. His entire left side was covered in a big black bruise, with one deep cut. The attacker had definitely used a crowbar. She gently felt the ribs under the bruise, they were at least fractured, possibly broken. She couldn't do anything for that though, so she shooed Irvine's hand away and gently peeled the cloth off of Squall. It was sticky with blood and she had to pull it off not so gently. She tossed a washcloth at Irvine and told him to wet it down.

Micah wiped the wound with the washcloth, that quickly became just as gross as the discarded sleeve, and then wiped it with antiseptic. Honestly, she knew it was going to need a good five to ten stitches. But she didn't have the kind resources to do that. She could only wrap the wound and hope it wasn't as serious as it looked. Micah made sure the bandages were secured tight. She put a bandage over the cut on his side, which was not near as serious, and tugged his shirt back down. She slipped the previously discarded pillow under his head and threw a light blanket over him.

Micah washed her hands and collapsed in a chair in the corner of the room. She darkly stared at the floor, praying that Squall would be okay. He'd lost a lot of blood. His usually tanned skin was unnaturally pale. He looked terrible. Not that she looked much better, with her jeans and shirt splattered with blood.

She scrubbed at the red spots half-heartedly , not really caring if they ever came out.

Irvine had watched calmly from the corner, staying out of the way and moving only when told to. "Should I tell the pilot we need to land?" He asked, removing his now one sleeved jacket.

Micah shook her head. "How close are we to Esthar?"

"Probably no more than an hour out now. I bet I can get the pilot to get there faster though." Irvine said, adjusting the hat on his head.

Micah nodded. "We can't do anything else for right now. We just need to get him to Esthar. Landing in the middle of nowhere wouldn't do us much. Hyne help me, I am going to strangle the person that did this to Squall." Micah said darkly.

Irvine sprinted up the stairs to the cockpit and told the pilot the situation. The Commander was injured and they needed to go faster. Simple command, right?

"I'm sorry Mr. Kinneas, I'm not permitted to go over a certain speed." The young pilot said.

"You have to go faster!" Irvine said.

The pilot shook his head. "There's a certain time that we have to be there and I'm not supposed to be late or early. The press would flip and I would lose my job."

Irvine walked out of the cockpit and flipped open his phone. He dialed Selphie's number. "Selph, do you think I could fly the Ragnarok?" Irvine held the phone away from his ear as Selphie shouted excitedly. "Okay, okay, Selph. I know you can and love to fly the Ragnarok, but we're talking about me flying it." She babbled for a second about the 'wonderful creation', referring to the airship, and if Irvine had seen 'Sir' Laguna yet, then finally said she thought he could handle it. "Thanks Selphie. Squall is kinda hanging in between life and death right now, so I'll call you later."

"OH." Selphie said on the other line, sounding embarrassed. "Sorry. Well, uh, I hope you don't crash the Ragnarok. That would be sad. For you, I mean... Uh, bye."

Irvine literally pushed the pilot from the cockpit and took his seat. He managed to keep it going in the right direction and altitude while figuring out how to make it go faster. "Alright then. Let's hope I don't kill us all..."

* * *

_**Author's Notes**_

**Lartovio: **_If for some strange reason, you like Rinoa, run. RUN. AWAY. NOW. It's not like we hate her... but she annoys me. And her and Squall just don't go together. That taken care of... Yay! We tried to kill Squall~! For the record, I must say, I love Irvine. Sorry for cutting it off here, but we had to split a chapter in half because the length ran away from us :) (Unlike my dear co-author, I don't have any regret whatsoever for nearly killing Squall. XD)_

**WayToDawn: **Rinoa's a jerk. And like my lovely co-author said, if you like Rinoa, YOU DON'T BELONG HERE. Poor Squall, I feel bad for trying to kill him... Does he live, does he die? Who knows? Irvine to the rescue! Well, I hope you like it. :) (To my lovely co-author, ARE YOU A HEARTLESS?)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Once she has calmed down some, Micah had contacted a hospital in Esthar and they had agreed to meet them at the landing dock.

After landing the airship like a pro, Irvine shot back to the cabins and lifted the still unconscious Squall off the bed. The paramedics already had a gurney by where the ramp would come down. Irvine carefully set Squall down and stepped back while they whisked him away to the ambulance. Micah, however, followed them closely.

"I'm Doctor Micah Wright, Squall's doctor for the time being, and his friend. He has a serious wound on the back of his head and at least two fractured ribs if not more."

They allowed her onto the ambulance, but before she got on she shouted at Irvine, "Find a ride and follow us! Tell Quistis she's in charge!" After she was sure Irvine had heard her, she closed the ambulance doors and took a seat beside Squall.

Gosh, you better make it through this, Leonhart. I will never forgive you if you don't. I'll never forgive myself. She put her head in her hands as the ambulance sirens turned on.

As the ambulance sped away, sirens blaring, Irvine was frantically searching for a ride to the hospital. The press were everywhere, a buzz of excitement at the fact that an ambulance had drove off. They were all walking around and talking to each other, into cameras about the Ragnarok's early arrival.

Irvine stopped in front of an older man, asking him the same question he had asked many others in just a few seconds time. "Excuse me, can I borrow your car?" Most of the people he asked told him to bug off, or just ignored him.

"What? Why would I let you take my car?" The old man brought up the cane in his hand and hit Irvine over the head.

Irvine backed away a few steps, holding a hand to his head. "What was that for?" The man hit Irvine with his cane a second time. "Stop hitting me!" As an instinct, when the cane came rushing toward him again, Irvine grabbed it and yanked it out of the man's grasp, sending it skidding into the crowd. Irvine promptly walked away.

After about a million more times of asking the same question, Irvine gave up. He bent over at the far end of the landing pad, trying to catch his breath. The crowd was now agitated that no other SeeD had come off the airship. they wanted to know what was going on.

"Hey, are you alright?" Irvine heard a familiar voice ask.

He straightened up and came face to face with the President. "President Loire!"

Laguna waved a hand at him. "Just call me Laguna, seriously. So what happened? I got here on time but it looks like you were early. I saw an ambulance drive off." Laguna scratched the back of his head, looking very unprofessional.

Irvine was glad to have been help to Squall, but he missed his coat already. "Someone attacked Squall on the ship. I kinda took over and sped the airship back..." Irvine said, a bit embarrassed about hijacking the airship.

Laguna's eyebrows shot up halfway up his forehead. "Is he okay? Was he in the ambulance?" He didn't seem to care about the ship.

Irvine nodded. "I was looking for a ride because I can't get to Squall without a car."

"We can use my car!" Laguna shouted.

"You came here on your own?" Irvine asked. It seemed odd for the President to come without an escort. In fact, Irvine couldn't see anyone acting as a guard anywhere near. Knowing Laguna, he probably slipped away from security. He blended in with the crowd well enough not to be noticed anyways.

"Uh, not exactly... but nobody is in the car right now and I'm pretty sure we can get to it without anybody noticing. Eh, right away at least." Laguna answered, running off across the landing pad, motioning for Irvine to follow him. They took a flight of stairs down from the landing pad and into a parking garage. Laguna made a bee-line for a black van with tinted windows, running at a speed surprising for his age.

"You sure about this?" Irvine asked apprehensively.

"Yeah, we'll be fine." Laguna replied nonchalantly. Laguna produced a single key from his pocket -that made Irvine slightly suspicious of where it came from- started the car and took off from the landing pad and sped to the hospital.

Irvine gripped the arms of the seat as Laguna sped through traffic at speeds that should have not been possible. He figured the government licence plates were the only thing preventing them from being pulled over. "Do you think we could go a bit slower?" Irvine asked as Laguna maneuvered around the cars on the street.

Laguna laughed, almost like a giggle. Laguna was such a kid. "Relax! I do this all the time! It's not really all that fun to be boxed in by security guards all the time, so I just borrow the car and drive off to where ever for a little while." Sure it was dangerous. Sure he terrorized the people he sped around, but sometimes he needed to get away. Kiros wasn't always happy when he did though. The ever-silent Ward seemed to think it was funny. Both when Laguna got in trouble and when he stole- borrowed the car.

Irvine simply nodded and tried to keep his mind off the cars that Laguna almost ran into. There was so much Irvine wanted to do. He wanted to get married, buy a house or something. But no, he wasn't going to be allowed to do those things. Laguna was going to kill him.

Laguna caught sight of the ambulance up ahead and fist-pumped, the car swerving with the action. Laguna weaved through traffic more to get right behind the ambulance. It pulled into the hospital parking lot and went to the Emergency Room entrance, while Laguna swerved right into the parking spot.

The ambulance screeched to a stop and the paramedics quickly unloaded their patient. Micah jumped off after they unloaded Squall.

"Wait," Micah was stopped by the receptionist, a young woman that was taller than her. "you can't go back there. I'm sorry, I assure you they'll do everything to take care of your friend."

Micah stood on her tip toes, trying to see around the nurse, but it was no use. The doors had already swung shut. They took Squall around a corner and that was that. Micah took a step back, tears stinging her eyes. "Please, tell me if anything happens." She said in a frail voice.

"Of course." The nurse said kindly, waiting to move until she was sure Micah wasn't going to try to follow him.

Micah collapsed in a chair in the waiting room and sighed. She was a doctor sitting in the waiting room. Now she knew how the family and friends of people she had cared for in emergency situations had felt. Patience was not one of her strongest suits, either. She groaned and put her head in her hands just as Irvine flew through the front door of the hospital.

He closed the distance between them with a few long strides and crouched down beside Micah. "Is he gonna be okay?"

"I don't know yet. He just went into the ER and they wouldn't let me follow." Micah snapped.

"Oh, sorry." Irvine said sheepishly and sat down beside Micah.

Seconds after Irvine sat down, another person burst in through the doors. They caught sight of Irvine and walked over quickly. "How's Squall? Who's that?" He asked, frowning at Micah.

"He's in the ER, we don't know yet!" Micah snapped, she was getting agitated at having to answer the same question twice. "And who are you?" She asked suspiciously.

"Um... I'm the- uh, President of Esthar. And Squall's father..." Laguna answered in confusion.

She gave him a deadly glare. "Squall's an orphan. Common knowledge, Mister. Now would you mind telling me who you really are or should I have Irvine shoot you out of here?"

Laguna raised an eyebrow. "I'm not kidding." He said.

Micah jumped to her feet and stood on her tiptoes to get into the stranger's face. Even then she stood a few inches shorter than him. "My friend just nearly died and I really don't feel like dealing with some poser. Please get out." She growled.

Irvine felt he should intervene now before she pulled a gun on him or something. He grabbed her elbow and pulled her out of Laguna's stunned face. "Micah, he's actually the president. And Squall's father, though Squall will deny it..."

Micah bit her lip and sat back down. "I-I'm so sorry... Mr. President... Oh Hyne, I'm so sorry." She wiped a tear out of the corner of her eye. "I had no idea..." She said shakily.

Laguna stuttered, trying to find something to say. She was crying, for Hyne's sake! "Uh, I'm not mad. Really, it's fine." He smiled at her apologetically.

"Excuse me?" It was the nurse from before.

Micah jumped to her feet and quickly erased all traces of tears from her face. "Is he okay?" She asked hurriedly.

"Are they with you?" She asked, referring to Irvine and Laguna. Micah nodded and the woman continued. "He's fine. He has three fractured ribs, and they had to put five stitches on that cut on his head. We admitted him and he's in a room on the second floor now. You can visit him now if you want, only two at a time." She smiled and walked away.

There was a sigh of relief from all three of them as the nurse walked away. Laguna was the first to break the silence. "You two go see him first, I'll see him afterwards."

"Are you sure?" Micah asked.

"Yup, I can wait a minute." He would prefer to wait a minute.

She nodded hesitantly. "Okay, thanks." The two walked across the room to the elevator and rode up in comfortable silence, knowing that their friend was safe and in stable condition. They went to the second floor and opened the door to Squall's room.

He looked absolutely horrid. He was on an IV and there was a bandage wrapped around his head, much better than the makeshift ones Micah had to use. There was also a machine monitoring his brain waves. With a hit on the head like that, he was sure to have a concussion, and it was possible he could even slip into a coma. Micah assumed there weren't any issues with brain swelling, otherwise they probably wouldn't be in the room right now. He was pale from the blood loss. To sum it up, he looked like death warmed over.

At least he was alright. If he had been hit any harder he'd probably be dead. At least for the moment a coma was the worst they were dealing with.

Micah sat down in a chair next to Squall's bed. She slipped her hand into his. "I'm so sorry this happened to you. You didn't deserve it." She breathed, trying not to cry again.

Irvine put a hand on her shoulder. "He'll pull through. He's been through far too much crap to give in to some punk with a crowbar."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But, what did he do to deserve this?" Micah asked bitterly.

"Nothing." Irvine growled. Irvine wasn't going to say anything yet, but it was no small feat to get into SeeD. If someone managed to masquerade as a SeeD instructor, and fool even Cid, they were good. And there was no way the person behind all of it had been there. If it was someone that had been that good, they'd have brought a big gun with a silencer and he'd be dead. They would have also struck when he was still on the ground. Irvine was glad that the punk who'd attacked him was now stuck in the middle of nowhere.

The person that attacked him worked for someone with a lot of influence, or they were a renegade SeeD member. This is of course assuming there is such a person as one in charge of Squall's attacker.

Micah sniffled. "If he dies because of this, I am going to bring him back to life and kill him myself. You hear that, Leonhart?" Micah was only able to joke about that because she knew this wouldn't kill him. She frowned and tilted her head up to look at Irvine. "How did you know that Mr. Loire is Squall's father? Why does Squall let people think he's an orphan?"

Irvine shook his head. "He doesn't love the idea of Laguna as his dad, I guess. Any of the rest of us would give anything for a parent though." Irvine sighed. "He and Laguna tried to work it out once... but they haven't spoken since. Squall avoids him like the plague. One of the reasons I suppose he really didn't want to come to Esthar."

"Well I guess we should let his dad see him then..." Micah gave Squall's hand a squeeze and let it go. "I'll be back later." She murmured.

Micah stood and exited the room with Irvine following behind. "I really hope he wakes up soon."

"Me too." Irvine agreed.

They stepped onto the elevator once more and went down to the first floor. Laguna was pacing back and forth in the waiting room, much to the annoyance of just about everyone else. He stared at the ancient carpet intently and his hands were in his pockets. Micah and Irvine watched in horror as he about ran into someone, but stopped and sidestepped before continuing his pacing, never looking up.

Micah shook her head as she walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "They told you he was alright." she said with a small smile.

Laguna turned around quickly. "Yeah, but that doesn't keep me from worrying about him."

"Well, you can go see him now." Micah said.

"Thanks." Laguna smiled briefly and headed for the elevator. It seemed to take forever just for it to get up there. Laguna realized in the forty seconds he was in there that he didn't even know what happened. He didn't know what to expect. For all he knew Squall could have been stabbed or something. he hadn't heard anything the nurse said past "He's fine".

He bounced on his toes, waiting for the telltale ding of the elevator and the doors to open. Once they did, he shot out like a bullet and nearly plowed over another person coming in. He threw a quiet 'sorry' over his shoulder and snuck not-so-sneakily into Squall's room. All the while he prayed that there was nothing near Squall that he could throw. Even if there was, well, he was going in there. He was his son and he has a freaking right to be worried whether he hates him or not.

He peeked in and saw that Squall was asleep. He walked in and quietly shut the door behind him. He edged closer to the bed nervously. Squall didn't seem to have any injuries other than a bandage that was wrapped around his head. His hair was pushed up by the bandage and sticking out every which way.

Laguna sighed. He wished he could get half this close to Squall when he was conscious. He really loved Squall. In a father-son kinda way of course. He looked so much like Raine it was scary. He wondered how he hadn't identified him long before. Where else could someone get awesome good looks like that unless they were related to Laguna anyways?

Laguna really hoped he would be okay. He had been near ecstatic when Cid said he would do his best to con Squall into going. Cid had secretly given Laguna the chance to choose a few SeeDs that he approved of to be sent to the new Garden. Laguna had requested Squall, Quistis, Irvine and that Selphie girl. He found that Selphie was stuck to Trabia Garden, but Cid could send everyone else. Cid had told him how difficult it had been getting Squall to even listen to the idea. Laguna was immensely grateful though. He felt a bit bad about it, but if Squall wasn't going to do anything himself, Laguna was going to take matters into his own hands.

Laguna could be sneaky. He could also be clever.

Even if the idea had been Kiros's...

All of a sudden, his phone started ringing with that loud and annoying ringtone he had yet to change.

"Dang it!" He hissed as he quickly pulled the phone out of his pocket. He glanced up at Squall, who had thankfully had not woken up. He pushed random buttons until, finally, he managed to press the correct button and answer the phone. "What?" He whisper-shouted.

Laguna held the phone away from his ear as Kiros shouted, "Where are you, Laguna?"

"I'm in the hospital." Laguna answered.

"What? What are you doing there?" Kiros asked worriedly.

"Squall was attacked on the Ragnarok and they had to get him to the hospital, so I took the car and came here to make sure he was okay." Laguna explained quietly, hoping not to disturb Squall.

"You could have said something!"

"Sorry, I was a bit worried about my only son." Laguna snapped.

Kiros sighed. "I'm sorry." He apologized.

"Nah, it's alright." Laguna said. He almost never got upset at people, and when he did, it was always short-lived anger.

"How is Squall doing?" Kiros asked.

"He's stable. He has three broken ribs though. And a big gash on his head." Laguna replied.

"I guess I'll let you go then. I'll clear your schedule for the next few days, okay? Talk to you later."

"Okay, bye." Laguna hung up and returned his attention to Squall.

He sighed after a while. "You've gotta make it through this, kiddo. I didn't bring you here just to die on me." Laguna sighed again and glanced at the door. He had things to do; minivans to return. "When I come back you better be well enough to at least glare at me. Maybe you could not throw things at me for a while though? Okay? Okay."

* * *

_**Author's Notes**_

**WayToDawn: **Squall's alive! Yay! I feel bad for almost killing him, but I'll get over it. I always knew Laguna was a crazy driver... Lartovio, down there thinks Laguna is better than Squall, PROVE HER WRONG! But, I will admit Laguna is a good father while Squall isn't a very good son. Please, send us them reviews, I feel so neglected... (cries in corner) AND I'LL KEEP CRYING UNLESS YOU SEND US REVIEWS AND THEN SEND MY HOMICIDAL SELF OUT ON ALL OF YOU! Anyway, enjoy!

**Lartovio: **_(No, I am not a heartless.) Oh how I love Laguna. Like, so much.. WayToDawn here thinks Squall is more amazinger though, can you please set her straight? Send us reviews! Who's better? Father or son? ;D I'll warn you all now, the next chapter made me cry. It made ME. CRY. Dawn didn't cry, because she's cold and heartless. The next chapter will make the title make sense. :) (Dawn won't really send her homicidal side after you... we keep her locked up.) _

**Way to Dawn: **(^ I did too cry! ON the inside, my heart was shattering.)


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

All he could feel was a throbbing pain in the back of his head. He groaned and forced his eyes open. He ached all over. But over all of the aches, the roaring headache definitely stood out. He tried flexing his fingers for a start, and found one hand trapped. With much effort, he moved his head and saw a girl half on a chair, half on the edge of the bed.

He studied the girl. She had blonde hair that stuck up all over the place from her precarious sleeping position. He sleepily looked around the dark room and realised he didn't know where he was. The room was totally unfamiliar to him. He blinked several times, then looked back at the girl. She was pretty, but he didn't know who she was. He pulled his hand out of hers and frowned.

"I don't... I don't even- even know my name." He said to himself. "Who's she? Where am I at?" He was practically shouting the last part.

The girl sat up and looked at him with wide green eyes. "Squall!" She exclaimed, smiling. "You're in the hospital in Esthar. You feel okay?"

He shook his head, even doing that hurt. "I don't know you. I-I don't know Squall." He stuttered.

Her face fell. "Squall... you're Squall. Your name is Squall, don't you remember anything?"

"I don't know. I-I don't remember... Who are you?"

"Micah, I'm Micah." A tear slipped down her cheek. "Do you not remember _anything_?" She asked desperately. "How old are you?" He shrugged helplessly. "What's two plus two?"

"Four?" He answered, wondering if it was a trick question or something. "Who _are_you?"

"I'm Micah! I'm your friend! You're Squall Leonhart! You saved the world, Commander of Balamb Garden, Headmaster of Esthar Garden, my friend! Come on, don't you remember any of this?" Micah hung her head in defeat, shaking silently with sobs.

A nurse opened the door, and gestured for another to follow her in the room. One of them went to the sobbing Micah and the other tried to calm Squall.

"What happened, dear?" The nurse asked gently.

"H-he doesn't re-remember anything. Nothing at all!" Micah yelled in despair. She knew there was a possibility of him having a bit of memory loss, most likely he wouldn't be able to remember what happened right before he was hit, but nothing... not remembering anything... that was extreme. She had been told by a textbook that there were very few cases of this ever happening. And it had to happen to him. As if his life hadn't sucked enough already, life had to just dump this in his lap. At least he wouldn't remember life's past attacks on him.

"He'll be alright. Let's get Commander Leonhart calmed down, and everything will get better. I'm afraid I'm going to ask you wait downstairs. We don't want to upset Commander Leonhart any further." The nurse said.

Micah nodded and exited the room reluctantly. _I can't believe he can't remember anything. This is terrible._She thought to herself.

She realized she needed to tell Laguna and Irvine. But, she didn't know how to contact Laguna. So, she settled for calling Irvine. She pulled out her phone and quickly dialed the number.

It rang twice and then a hazy voice answered, "Hello?"

"Irvine!" Micah shouted. She'd known he would be sleeping, but this was more important than his sleep.

"Micah...? Oh, Micah! Is Squall alright?" He asked.

"Irvine... he can't remember anything. Not even his own name." Micah said softly.

"No..." Irvine muttered.

She hesitated for a moment. She could hear rustling on the other end, indicating Irvine was getting out of bed. "Do you know how to contact President Loire?" She asked.

"I'm sure I can manage to get in contact with him. I'll be there in a little bit, okay?" Irvine reassured her.

"Okay. I'll be here. I'll tell you if anything changes." She hung up the phone, stuffed if into her pocket and pressed the button for the elevator. She stepped onto it as soon as the doors slid open. She pressed the first floor button.

_I hope this is only temporary. _She silently prayed, hoping somebody was listening to her.

* * *

Laguna slowly made his way into the hospital in the dark. It was two A.M, but that was irrelevant at the time. He walked as slowly as he could, unlike normal. Irvine didn't have loads of information, but Laguna didn't want to believe what he had heard. In the stress of the moment two hours ago, it was probably just over exaggerated. He hoped it was.

Squall didn't remember anything. He couldn't believe that. Couldn't remember his own name.

He walked up to the doors of the hospital and they slid open automatically. He hesitantly walked through them and made straight for the elevator. Irvine had called him about thirty minutes ago saying that he could now see Squall again, and that Micah had gone back to Garden to get some rest. So Laguna knew he would be able to go in.

This time the elevator ride was too short; it couldn't have lasted long enough. Laguna hoped this was all just a crazy dream and that he would wake up and find that Squall was fine. He knew that he wasn't, though. It just seemed impossible.

He quietly turned the handle of the door and slipped in. Squall had newspapers strewn across his lap, he was the only one in the room.

Laguna inched closer and saw that all the papers were out of date. The headlines all had something to do with Squall, with the second Sorceress War. Squall was trying to remember, already. _Still stubborn as ever._

Squall looked up at Laguna and he flinched, but Squall only studied him. There was no recognition in his face. In fact... he looked scared. "Should I know you?" Squall asked.

He didn't say 'Do I know you?'. No, he asked if he should know him. Laguna was ready to break down in tears. But for the president of Esthar at two in the morning, that wasn't a good thing to do. So he didn't. Besides, that would be a terrible way to make a second first impression.

"I'm Laguna Loire. I'm... I'm your dad." He said hesitantly. Still, Squall didn't seem to recognize him at all.

"They said my name is Leonhart." He said shortly, doubting Laguna.

Laguna nodded. "That's a bit of a long story. But I promise, we're related." He offered Squall an unsure smile. Squall... Holy crap, Squall smiled back.

"I'm willing to listen."

"Huh?"

"I'll listen to your story. Just tell me who I am." He sounded as if he were begging Laguna. That was a tone Laguna had never heard him use.

Laguna sighed. "Okay, I'll tell you." Laguna pulled the chair closer to the bed.

Squall looked at him expectantly.

"Where do I start? Well, the first thing you should know is that the two of us, we didn't actually meet until you were seventeen years old." Laguna started.

Squall raised an eyebrow to this.

"Your adopted sister, Ellone, was taken before you were born. I had decided to go after her. Your mother, Raine Leonhart, never told me she was pregnant. When, I left she was probably only about a few weeks along. Anyway, after I found Ellone, I sent her back to Winhill, your mother's home town, and I had to stay here in Esthar because, well, I was kinda unofficially appointed President. I couldn't return with your sister. When I did return to Winhill they told me your mother had died. I asked where Ellone was they told me they sent her to an orphanage, they never told me which one. I asked how Raine died, they told me she died in childbirth, you were supposed to have been dead too. It wasn't until a few years later that I found out you had survived. I just... I was just... I don't know. I was chicken I guess. It wasn't until you went and saved the world that I actually said anything." Laguna paused for a second. "I'm not too graceful with words, and... Well, you didn't really accept it, you said you didn't need me. Now you're twenty and this..." Laguna chuckled a little bit. "This is the first time you've let a word come out of my mouth to you since."

Squall nodded, his eyes trained on his lap. "I'm sorry."

Laguna went a bit wide-eyed. "What on earth for?"

"From what I hear I'm a pretty big jerk..." Squall muttered.

"No, Squall. You aren't a jerk, I'm just a terrible father. If I had actually done something and-"

"People are who they are because they choose to be it. Apparently, I chose to push everyone away and be a jerk to the world. From what the newspapers say anyways." He pushed them away absently. "I'm sorry. And... I might have not needed you back then... but I need you now. I need you to help me remember who I am." Squall ran a hand through his hair. Lack of memory or not, he was still Squall. "Thanks."

Laguna's brain was overloaded. He was about to explode. Just-just... KA-BOOM. Like, explode on the spot. He grinned widely to Squall. "That's the most you've ever said to me. Ever. And it's also one of the greatest things you could have said to me. Thanks, Squall. for giving me another chance."

Squall nodded softly. "You're welcome."

* * *

Quistis, Laguna, and Micah stood behind a small stage with a podium on it, waiting for the press to arrive. They gathered in and around the seats in front of a little stage set up for the occasion. Slowly the area got more and more crowded with a buzz of excitement in the air.

Quistis took a deep breath as she prepared to go up onto the small stage. _Finally, I get my chance at being headmaster. Maybe Cid will finally realize that I was meant for this, not Squall. I just wish that stupid kid would have finished the job. I have a chance to show them all I'm worth more than him. _She thought to herself.

Quistis glanced over her shoulder at Laguna and Micah. They both had this worried and almost irritated looks on their faces. She could tell they wanted to be with Squall.

_We'll never be able to get anywhere near Squall, unless we're acting as friends visiting him. And I certainly can't kill him. We'll have to get rid of those two for good. I'll have to talk to-_

"What are you waiting for? The press is getting impatient." Laguna said, interrupting her thoughts.

Quistis stepped up to the podium sitting in the middle of the stage. "Hello everyone, thank you for coming here today for the opening of Esthar Garden. Please leave all questions until the end of the conference and I will answer them accordingly." Quistis started. "I am honored to have this opportunity and all of us here at Esthar are looking forward to making connections with Esthar." She paused for a moment. "About enrolling in Garden, we will start accepting applications to join this coming Friday. All students must be at least five years to fifteen at the start of their education at Garden. From fifteen to nineteen years old they will be eligible to take the SeeD exam, if they turn nineteen before passing the exam, they will be expelled from Esthar Garden. Once expelled from one Garden, you may have no part in any other locations. I will now answer questions." Quistis said.

All of the press raised their hands immediately. She pointed to young woman in the front row. "You."

"I thought Squall Leonhart, Commander of Balamb Garden, was supposed to appointed as Headmaster of Esthar Garden?" The woman asked.

"Commander Leonhart has been involved in an accident very recently and is not capable of performing his responsibilities as Headmaster at the time, so I have been appointed Headmistress until he is recovered. Next question?"

All hands were raised again. Quistis picked a young man with a small notebook in his hand.

"Can we have information on Commander Leonhart's condition? Will he be able to resume his duties soon?" The man asked.

"He is stable, but we are not sure how long he will need to recover." Quistis answered evenly. As much as she would love to spill the beans and tell them that he would most likely never be seen again, she had to wait. It would ruin everything to be found out now. Right when things were getting interesting too.

Only a few more hands were raised, Quistis ignored them. "President Loire has prepared a speech and will also answer questions regarding the situation, thank you." She stepped down from the podium and Laguna stepped forward.

"Thanks for coming everyone, we're very happy to have you all here." Laguna said with a friendly smile. "I'm real glad to have this opportunity to reach out to other places. With our own little Garden here, we now have friends all around the globe. Friends from Balamb, Trabia, Galbadia, and anyone affiliated with them. Oh, and by little Garden, I mean huge. This Garden is just slightly bigger than Balamb Garden. I look forward to Headmaster Leonhart's recovery and being able to work with him." Laguna almost choked on that last part. "Any questions?" He asked, plastering a smile on his face. Fake it 'til you make it, Laguna.

All the hands shot up in the crowd. "You?" He pointed to an older man in the back.

"We've all heard about your association with Headmaster Leonhart, what are your thoughts on this situation?" He shouted.

"Excuse me, but what association would you be speaking of?" Laguna asked slowly. Maybe they were talking about how they had fought the Sorceress War together...

"Well, Mr. President, you're his father, aren't you?" The man asked.

No such luck. Laguna fumbled for an answer for a second, wondering if he should deny it. Squall probably didn't care at the moment, but if he got his memory back and hated him again... But Laguna had to be honest. It was one of the only rules Laguna ever actually followed. "Uh, well yes. I am. I had no clue that it was known that we were related." Laguna answered with a sigh.

"And your thoughts on this situation, Mr. President?" The man asked again.

They just don't give up, persistent little twerps. "Well, I am very..." He struggled to find the right words to say. _Upset, traumatized, freaking out... _**"**Troubled, about what has happened to him. I only hope that he has a quick recovery and that the isn't affects aren't permanent. Next question?" He choked out. He could have slapped himself. Of course they didn't _know_what happened to Squall. Laguna was no smooth-talker, but right now he was really struggling.

He pointed out a woman in the middle section of the crowd. "What exactly is his condition, President Loire?" She asked.

"I don't think it is right to give this information out at this point in time." Laguna said, regaining some of his confidence.

"Please, President Loire, the people are dying to know what happened!" Another reporter insisted.

Laguna clenched his jaw. "It is inappropriate at this time to let that information out to the media. It's not my place to say either. We are not here to answer all these questions about Headmaster Leonhart, we are here to answer questions about Garden. Is there anyone who has questions about that?"

There was no response, only a stunned silence.

"No? Okay. The conference is over, thank you all for coming." Laguna said shortly and walked off the stage.

The press watched him leave with an amazed look on their faces. They had never seen their president lose his cool like that. At least they could now report that the rumors of them being father and son were true.

Micah gave Laguna a smile. She really just wanted to go punch a few of those reporter's faces in, but she figured it wouldn't look too good all over the news.

Laguna pulled his cell phone out of his pocket as it started buzzing. He looked at it expecting to see Kiros, but saw Ellone's face on the screen instead. He answered it and held it up to his ear, turning away from the crowd of reporters still shouting questions and trying to get by security.

"Hello?" He shouted over the crowd.

"Uncle Laguna! I just saw you on the news, what happened? I've never seen you get that angry, especially when you're talking to the media." Ellone asked in confusion.

"Yeah, well. The media should learn to take no for an answer." Laguna said angrily, making a point to make it loud enough for the crowd behind security to hear.

"Okay, well, I just wanted to know what was going on. I'm just about to leave to see Squall. I'll talk to you later, okay?" She opened the door of her apartment in the Presidential Palace and walked into the hallway. Laguna said goodbye and hung up the phone. Ellone closed her phone and slid it into her small purse.

She had to practically battle the people at the front desk of the hospital to let her up, but she made her way to Squall's room. She peeked through the little square window on the door and saw him sitting on the bed with a book in his hand. She pushed the door open slowly and entered.

Squall looked up from his book and stared at her. She had gotten a full account on Laguna's visit and how Squall had reacted, but he didn't say anything to her. It was kinda weird, even for him, to be staring at her like that. He seemed to be deep in thought, but he was definitely studying her as well.

"I think I know you." He decided.

Ellone nodded slightly, encouraging him to go on. After a moment, he seemed to give up, shaking his head. "I'm your sister, Ellone." She said with a small smile. She sat down on the chair beside the bed.

"I'm sorry... I wish I did remember." He said quietly.

"You will. You just have to give it time." Ellone reassured him.

He sighed. "Sure."

Ellone had seen Squall upset, she'd heard him angry, she was the only one who knew how lonely he felt sometimes. How bored he was with his job; how confused he had been around Rinoa. She had never seen him so broken though. He seemed so lost.

She had been his friend, and she heard more about his life and his feelings than any other person alive. She wanted to hug him and tell him everything would be alright. She wanted to tell him who he was and who she was, she wanted him to remember. She had already pleaded her Uncle Laguna to let her send him back, just a little. It would seem natural enough anyways, right?

But he had told her no. Firmly. He said that Squall needed to remember on his own, that they had no right to search through his mind and yank out memories to show him. He needed to do this on his own, he told her.

It wasn't that she didn't believe in him, but she worried for him. She was his big sister, and she had every right to be worried about him. She knew she couldn't interfere though, as much as she wanted to.

"Have they told you when I'm getting out of here?" Squall asked, interrupting her thoughts. "They haven't told me anything."

She was tempted to say, **'**_Yes, I've been told you're being kept prisoner here from all the media that's chomping at the bits to pry into your private life. I don't know when they'll let you go.' _Instead she settled for, "I haven't heard when you're being released." She sighed. "Soon enough, though." Her eyes lit up. "What about your new friend Micah? I'd not heard anything about her until Uncle Laguna told me."

"I don't really remember her..." He said.

"Oh... yeah. But you've spent plenty of time with her since you've been here. C'mon, you've got to have something to tell me about her." Ellone had been more than giddy to hear that him and Rinoa had broken up. As mean as that sounds. She just knew that they weren't right together.

"She's... nice." He replied shortly.

"Really? Is that all you have to say?" She asked.

"Yes." There was a lot behind that yes.

Ellone giggled. "You're still stubborn as ever, Squall."

Squall gave her a small smile. "Did I seem happy with my job?" Squall asked suddenly.

Ellone thought for a moment. He hadn't at all. He'd balked at the prospect of being Headmaster, and he despised the mountains of paperwork he got as Commander. He was a restless person, he always had to be doing something. He needed to be doing something active, not signing paper all day. She couldn't lie to him.

"I mean..." He hesitated for a second, seeming unsure of what he was about to say. "Killing for a living?" He put the book he'd been reading on the side table. She now saw that it was a SeeD manual.

Oh. He meant something completely different. "You've been training for that ever since you were a little kid... you weren't given the choice as to whether or not you wanted to do it." She thought for a moment. "But, SeeD isn't bad... just I think Cid has kinda lost sight of what it used to be... or what it was supposed to be." She finished.

Squall sighed and looked down at his lap. Ellone noticed that the whole time she was there he hardly made eye contact. She sure hoped he was back to normal soon, or at least closer to it.

* * *

_**Author's Notes**_

**_Lartovio: _**_So...SAD! I told you I cried writing this one! :'( Though the whole Laguna/Squall thing there was so cute... Oh, and SURPIRSE! Quistis is the bad guy! :D So if you like Quistis too... well... you should go. Gosh, Dawn, we're just driving off all the fans, huh? Seriously, ya'll are letting us down in the review department. We'll do this even if you come with torches and pitchforks, but if you're being driven off by its terribleness, the least you could do is tell us? __:) That would seriously make our day. Dawn here hasn't really ever gotten reviews before, y'know? Well, if there's anyone out there... we'll see you next week :D_

**_WayToDawn: _**Squall... Poor Squall... AND QUISTIS! What a shocker. And Ellone visiting Squall. Just so all of you know, I don't like writing Ellone... Anyway, WHY NO REVIEWS? Don't you like us? Am I a failure? You know what fine, don't review I don't care! Do what you want, it doesn't matter to me. I'm just gonna go cry in my corner now, so see ya.

**_Lartovio: _**_She's so dramatic. Ignore her :P EVERYBODY! Say happy birthday to Dawn! Or she'll REALLY cry!_

**_WayToDawn: _**I'm dramatic? I'M DRAMATIC? HOW DARE YOU? (destroys Lartovio's beloved PSP) Okay, well this is really goodbye. Goodbye! :D


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Micah tapped on the glass beside the door to Squall's room. He looked up and they exchanged smiles. She pushed open the door and walked in. Micah had decided to come on her lunch break. She would regret it later though when she was hungry, and she knew it.

"Hey Squall." She said as she plopped down on the foot of the bed. She peeked over at the book he was reading and made a face. Another SeeD manual. She'd have to talk to Irvine; he had to be the one supplying them.

Squall shook his head as he shut the book with a little more force than necessary. "Irvine said I quote the things to him, but I don't recognize any of it." He huffed slightly as he shoved the book away.

"You'll remember soon enough. As soon as I can get you out of here I will." She said encouragingly. "Anything new to report?"

"Ellone came to visit me yesterday."

Micah knew that Ellone was Squall's adopted sister and Laguna's daughter, but she had never met the girl.

"Can you tell me how we... how we know each other?" Squall asked.

"Well," Micah began, "it's a short story really. We were in the same social studies class when we were fourteen and I annoyed you pretty badly, I think. We didn't meet again until two days before all this. I taught you what video games are and saved your life. Erm, sorta."

"Sorta saved my life?" He questioned.

"No, sorta taught you what video games are." She said, laughing.

He smiled. "That makes more sense."

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, just looking at each other. Micah no longer felt uncomfortable when he stared at her. She had come to a conclusion that words weren't always needed, nor wanted. She had nearly memorized his face now, every little aspect of it.

Squall always froze up under her gaze. She had beautiful green eyes and they seemed to look past his own eyes and into what he was thinking. The way that her blonde hair was always just a little frizzy around her face, just enough to be cute. So he hadn't known her long, even before all of this. He wanted to say he could remember seeing her before, but he couldn't. The only thing he'd remembered so far was bits and pieces of past battles and his sister. At least Micah hadn't been his girlfriend or anything. That would have most likely made things more complicated.

"When will I be able to leave?" Squall asked, averting his gaze.

A pang of guilt struck Micah and she too looked down. He could have been released days ago probably, but she and Irvine had decided it wasn't safe. Whoever had attacked him wouldn't be happy that he was still alive, and would most likely come after him again. Not to mention the press. They hovered around the building all day like vultures, and several reporters had been banned from the property. Micah had to battle a wave of flashing lights and people with microphones to get into the building. Every time they saw her walk for the building, they swooped in from out of nowhere and attacked. "I'll get you out of here soon, I promise." She didn't know how soon that would be, but she meant it. "Well, my lunch break is about over. I gotta be getting back to E Garden. I think I remember Irvine saying that he was gonna come visit you tonight. Okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks for coming to see me, Micah." Squall smiled.

"You're welcome." She said with a grin. She loved his smile so much.

Squall and Micah said their goodbyes and Micah left the room, walking for the elevator. Still wearing her white coat, she could easily be mistaken for someone who worked here. Other than the SeeD logo on her badge.

She pushed the button for the elevator and watched the numbers light up as the elevator rose to the floor she was on. Once it arrived she stepped on and pressed the button for the lobby. When the elevator doors opened again, she was not happy.

Rinoa blinked at the woman in the elevator, she didn't seem to want to get off here, so she stepped on with her. She pressed the button for what she had been told was Squall's floor, and stepped back to lean against the wall. "Oh, I'm sorry, what floor?" She asked the blonde in the elevator with her. She received a glare and no answer. Was Rinoa unwelcome here by this doctor...?

She pulled down her black tank top and adjusted her duster. Rinoa hadn't worn the ensemble for some time and she found she had gone through a small growth spurt. She figured she'd wear something Squall would be very familiar with, considering what had happened. She had heard through Zell who heard from Cid who heard from Selphie who heard from Irvine, so by the time it had gotten to her, and considering who had told her, she had very little information on what had happened exactly.

"Don't try to get close to him. And don't lie. You hurt him once and have no right to take advantage of him just to hurt him again." The woman said, giving her the deadliest look Rinoa thought she had ever gotten. Even after having spent so much time with Squall.

The doors slid open and Rinoa bolted, nearly knocking over someone who was about to get on. She rounded a random corner and leaned against the wall, trying to figure out who that woman was. She was certain she had never seen her, and she was also sure the news about Squall breaking up with her (or had she broken up with him?) hadn't gone public. She would certainly have heard it on the news.

After she had caught her breath she made her way to the room the nurse downstairs said Squall was in. She stared at the door for a second before knocking firmly.

"Come in." A muffled voice called through the door. "Uh, hey." Squall said quietly, not really knowing what to say to the young woman standing in front of the doorway.

"Hello." Rinoa replied. "You don't remember me, do you?" She asked awkwardly.

Squall hesitated. "No, I'm sorry. Who are you?"

"I'm Rinoa Heartilly, your... ex-girlfriend. I heard about what happened and wanted to make sure you were okay." She explained.

"I'm fine." He said shortly. "Why are you here?" He asked. He didn't know why, he didn't remember a thing about this girl, but he didn't like her already. And the fact that he was her ex-girlfriend. He didn't even remember having a girlfriend to begin with, let alone an ex.

She was slightly stunned by the question. "I-I was worried about you, Squall. I just..."

Squall shrugged, not the most comfortable thing to do, but he didn't think before he did it. "I'm fine. You can go home."

"I just wanted to talk! Can't you listen for two seconds?" She shouted at Squall.

"Look, I don't know who you are and I don't think you really have a reason for being here. So you can leave." Squall growled at her.

Rinoa huffed. "Fine! That's the last time I worry about you, Squall Leonhart!" She turned quickly and glanced back at Squall one more time, before leaving the room. She traveled nearly two freaking days on a train for this?

Whoever that woman was, she would find her. She would find her, and she would give her a piece of her mind. And maybe some more.

* * *

Several hours later, Squall still puzzled over the woman. Rinoa. With her visit, he'd remembered several other things. Little things. He remembered a day in the park, once when she'd come to Garden and had lunch with him. They weren't even full memories, just little scraps. He was so confused.

"Hey, Squall! How you doing?" Squall had been thinking so hard he hadn't even noticed Irvine had come in the room, with a blonde man trailing behind.

"I'm doing fine, thanks Irvine." Squall have a curious glance to the man. He wanted to say he knew this person.

Irvine mentally kicked himself as he realized Squall had no clue who Zell was. "Squall, this is Zell. He's your friend, our friend."

"Hey, it's nice to see you again man. How are you feeling?" Zell asked.

"Good. Thanks." Squall answered.

"So, Irvine thinks it's a good idea for me to tell you my life story." Zell grabbed the chair by the bed. "Me, you, Selphie, Quisty, and Irvine all lived in the same orphanage when we were little. But I got adopted when I was four and didn't really see you guys again until we were seventeen. Umm, we both studied at Balamb Garden and became SeeD two years ago. I'm sure you know all about the Second Sorceress War, so I won't go into that. Long story short, we've known each other a while." Zell finished with a grin.

"And I was expecting you to babble for the next two hours." Irvine said,from where he leaned against the wall.

"Aw, shut it!" Zell shouted.

Irvine chuckled and sat down in another chair on the other side of the bed. He returned his attention back to Squall, who was sitting on the hospital bed looking somewhat uncomfortable. "So, do you know when they're going to let you out of here, Squall?" Irvine asked.

"No, but Micah said she'd try to convince them to let me out in a few days if she thinks I'm well enough." Squall told him.

Irvine felt a bit guilty. He could have left a while ago, but Irvine and Micah didn't want to throw him back into the mess that was his life. They wanted to give him a little more time to try and remember some more. Though it seemed like it wasn't doing much. Would he have to be re-introduced to everyone he knew to remember them? "Isn't it the doctor's job to tell you when you're well enough to leave?" Irvine asked.

"Micah _is_a doctor." Squall replied.

"Yeah, but not a doctor that works here. It's not her job to decide when you can get out." Zell stated.

"I don't care. As long as I get out of here as soon as possible." Squall replied, looking very bored.

"Not to sound completely clueless, but what's Micah got to do with all this?" Zell asked.

"Zell, you _are_completely clueless." Irvine muttered with a grin. Zell gave him a glare. When Squall didn't seem interested in answering the question, Irvine went ahead. "Micah's- wait, how do you know her?"

Zell shrugged, tapping his fingers on his leg nervously. "Just seen her around..."

Irvine shook his head. Zell -who ended up in the infirmary a lot, we all know why- tended to flirt with just about every girl he saw. Badly flirt. "Micah's Squall's friend. When he was attacked Micah acted pretty fast. If it wasn't for her, there's a big possibility that he wouldn't be alive."

"Well, thank Hyne for Micah, I guess." Zell said.

Before anything else could be said, Squall's cell phone began ringing. "Leonhart." He answered.

"Squall!" Micah shouted. "You can get out tomorrow! You're going to come to Garden now!"

"Thank Hyne." Squall muttered.

* * *

**Author's notes:**

**_Lartovio: _**_We got a review! :D I have to say, it's super nice to get feedback. The extreme lack of it is kinda worrying, y'know? Sorry about the lack of updates! Dawn and I were kinda distracted... ^^' but we're good now. We're back on track with writing, I think. Note that we've moved the story from Dawn's account to mine! By the way, don't worry about my PSP. The case renders it FREAKIN INDESTRUCTIBLE! :) _

**_WayToDawn:_ **_REVIEWS! WOOHOO! Sorry, got a little out of control there... and also I apologize for Lartovio and I not updating sooner, we've had other things going on, but we're back now! And I couldn't actually destroy Lartovio's PSP even if I wanted to, mostly because it and I weren't anywhere near each other... So yeah, leave reviews! :)_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Early the next morning, Micah brought by some clothes for Squall and checked him out of the hospital. She led Squall to the rental car she had and they started their short trip to Esthar Garden.

The small car was heavy with silence, the car at a standstill in traffic. "So, are you happy to be out of the hospital?" Micah attempted conversation.

"What do you think?" Squall answered with his own question.

"I think you're going to miss that place terribly, and that I should turn around and take you back right now." She answered seriously.

Squall shook his head. "That won't be necessary. I think I'll live."

Micah laughed. "I'm glad you're able to come to E Garden. And this way, I won't be worrying about you all the time." She smiled.

"Why would you be worrying about me? It's not like I was going anywhere."

"You're my friend. I would worry about you regardless of where you were." Micah replied.

Squall was silent for a moment. "...Thanks."

"No problem." Micah grinned and turned into the Garden parking lot. She took one of the parking spaces for staff and exited the car. Irvine, Zell, and Quistis were waiting for them at the door.

"Welcome home!" Zell shouted, throwing his hands in the air with a grin.

"Good to see you, Squall." Quistis said with a clearly false smile.

"Thanks Zell. It's good to see you too." Squall said awkwardly. If he was right, which he hoped he was, this was Quistis. She was the one filling in for him, and a friend. Though she didn't seem very friendly.

"Well, welcome to Esthar Garden." Irvine said.

Micah grabbed Squall's arm, pulling him along into the building. "So, the good news is that you don't have to be in the hospital. Bad news is that you still have to stay in the infirmary. Just for another week, while you get used to being here." Micah smiled.

"More good news, you get to spend every waking moment with Miss Micah here." Irvine said. "Because until we start sending people out on missions, she doesn't have anything to do."

Micah shot Irvine a look. Irvine merely grinned at her. "Come on, I'll give you the grand tour."

Irvine and Zell -mostly Zell- showed Squall the sights of Garden. Quistis trailed behind them for a little while, then announced that she had too much work to do. She turned on her heel without saying anything else. Irvine walked slightly behind Zell, just enough that he wasn't hit by the man's flailing arms. The kid talked with more than his hands. Micah walked with her arm linked in Squall's, and a smile on her face.

Squall hated to admit it, but he felt light-headed from the little bit of walking he'd done. It upset him- he knew he should be able to function better than this.

"So, what do you think of Garden so far?" Zell asked anxiously, walking backward to look at Squall. He stopped short just before running into a bench, which would have sent him tumbling backwards.

"It's nice." Squall responded quietly. He knew they were hoping he'd remember something. Honestly, nothing at all seemed familiar.

Zell's smile fell.

Irvine discreetly elbowed Zell in the side. "We're glad you like it." He said with his own smile.

Squall nodded. The motion made him almost dizzy.

Having seen everything, they all headed to the infirmary where Squall would be staying. Squall sat in the closest chair to the door, feeling on the verge of passing out. As he put his head in his hands, Squall was faintly aware of Zell and Irvine saying goodbye, and shutting the door.

Micah bent down in front of him with a concerned look on her face. "Are you okay?" She asked quietly.

"I'm fine, just a little light-headed." He reassured her.

"Okay, just rest for a while." She said sympathetically and stood up again. She walked over to a desk and picked up a few charts, scanning over them. She checked a few voicemails on her phone, then turned back to Squall again. "Ready to go to your room?"

She meant do you think you can handle the walk. "Yeah, let's go." Squall had been told he'd be staying in the infirmary for a little while longer, just so that he would be close by if anything were to happen. Apparently things can still happen this late when you get hit on the head that hard. Part of it was probably so that he'd have her close by at all times, just because she was the one he'd spent the most time with since the accident; she was the one he knew best right now.

Micah led him to a small room in the far end of the infirmary. "This will be your room." She explained, opening the door to the room for him. There were a few boxes in the corner, a bed, and a few chairs. It looked a lot like the hospital room he had just left.

"Thanks."

"I didn't know how long I'll have you in here, so I brought a few of your boxes out of your actual dorm into here." She smiled at him. "We'll mess with that stuff tomorrow, why don't you get some rest for now?"

He nodded. "That's probably a good idea."

"Okay, I'll be at the front desk if you need me." She closed the door behind her as she left.

Squall laid back on the bed. _I hate this._He thought. _What if I never remember? I guess starting over wouldn't be all that bad. I didn't seem to have a great life before anyways. I could just disappear, make up a name and jump back into life... _

But he knew that wouldn't work. There were simple things that he couldn't remember how to do. For instance, he'd gotten a text from Irvine, and hadn't been able to figure out how to reply. The next day when Irvine called him, worried, and told Squall that he'd used to text him frequently. He had no memory of that. _I have to stay here. _Besides, his scar would be too much of a trouble to hide. He had no idea what it was from, but it was irritating. It didn't seem very faded, either. It was by no means new, but it wasn't old either.

He turned on his side and faced the wall. _I know everybody wants me to remember, but I just can't. Why did this have to happen to me? Hasn't fate screwed with my life enough? _Finally, after a while of staring at the blank wall, he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Squall woke up the next morning to his phone buzzing. He picked it up and looked at the screen, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the light enough for him to read what it said. Text message from Laguna Loire. He thought about ignoring it and going back to sleep, but then he saw that it was eleven in the morning already.

"_I know this is kinda not planned, but I was wondering if you'd like to go for a ride with me today in the Ragnarok. Unless you really don't want to go back on that ship, which I would understand... but, anyways. I'm going to Winhill... I try to get out there at least once every three months or so to see Raine. I figured you might not have anything better to do... so you could come with me."_

Squall thought about it for a second, then hit the reply button. He typed 'sure' and sent it.

He sat the phone down and sat up slowly. He'd learned that he was okay moving around as long as he wasn't too fast, otherwise he'd get dizzy. He wondered if he'd ever been to his mother's grave before. The answer seemed almost like a no-brainer, except in his situation. Squall hadn't known his parentage very long, and didn't seem very willing to do anything even after he did. Part of him was glad he was getting a chance to change that now, part of him still resented the entire situation a little.

Realizing he'd fallen asleep in the clothes Micah had brought for him, Squall switched on the light and knelt down beside the boxes on the floor. He peeled the tape off the box, and it stuck to his fingers. He pulled it off one hand with the other, and it was stuck to that hand. He growled and flung his hand around, it stayed stuck. He stuck it to the side of the box, and pulled his hand away. Finally it came off. Stupid packing tape.

He opened the flaps of the box and rummaged through the contents. Just what he had hoped it was, clothes. Micah knew what she was doing.

He had been wearing his SeeD uniform the day he'd come to Esthar, just like everyone but Irvine, and all Micah had brought him the day before was a T-shirt and a pair of jeans.

He pulled out some of the clothes, very careful not to unfold them. Leather pants, leather pants, leather pants... White shirt, white shirt, white shirt... They were all variations of the same outfit. The pieces of clothing were all different, but it was essentially the same outfit over and over again; Black leather pants with many zippers and belts, and a white shirt. There was a very worn black leather jacket on top of the box, that he supposed went with all the outfits.

Squall aborted his mission to keep them folded and shoved his arms in the box, feeling around for anything not leather. He pulled out two or three pairs of jeans and a few _black_shirts. Squall made a mental note to get a few items of not neutral colored clothing.

He settled for a pair of jeans and one of the many white shirts, and set out to find Micah.

He left the room and headed out to the lobby of the infirmary. _No Micah. Where else would she be this early? Maybe sleeping still..._

He had no clue where Micah slept, so he decided to drop by the cafeteria. If she wasn't there, he'd leave a note in his room or something.

She caught sight of him as he was leaving the cafeteria, and waved him down.

"Oh hey, look who's up and about!" She smiled, falling into step beside him. "Would you like to have some breakfast?"

Squall shrugged. So they got him a tray of food, and sat down at a table with Irvine and another woman that Squall didn't recognize.

Irvine looked up. "Hey man, how you feeling today?"

Squall shrugged. "Same as yesterday."

The other girl sitting at the table giggled. Squall looked at her strangely. He hadn't exactly told a joke. Not intentionally, anyway.

"Oh, I'm sorry." The girl stood up. "I'm Xu." She held a hand out to Squall.

He cautiously shook it. "Nice to meet you, although, I've probably met you before."

She smiled understandingly. "You're right. We've known each other for a while."

Squall nodded. He turned to Micah. "It's alright if I go out for a while, right?"

Micah smiled and nodded. "Sure. Excuse my being nosy, but where are you going?"

"With Laguna." Squall answered vaguely.

"Good ol' Squall. He's got vague written all over him." Irvine muttered good-naturedly.

Micah snorted in a rather unladylike manner. "Leave him be." She said, elbowing Irvine in the arm.

Squall managed to find his way out of Garden without getting too lost, and sat down on a bench out front, waiting for Laguna. After a few minutes, a big black van sped up to the curb, and stopped in front of Squall with a screech of tires. The windows were tinted so dark, Squall couldn't see even the driver. The window rolled down, and Laguna poked his head out.

"C'mon, let's go before they figure out I took the van again." Laguna said with a grin. "We'll need to take off before they figure out I'm gone, otherwise we'll never get away alone."

Squall raised an eyebrow, but got in the car.

Laguna peeled away from the curb and into traffic. He went at least ten miles over the speed limit the whole time and swerved and breaked haphazardly. They managed to make it to the Ragnarok safely, and Laguna proved better at driving an airship than a car.

Laguna seemed a little less excited than usual, choosing to be silent. Squall, of course, was fine with that.

Once Laguna couldn't stand the silence anymore, he made a pathetic attempt at conversation with his son. "How's your new room in E Garden?"

"It's nice. I'm staying in the medical wing for now, so that Micah can keep an eye on me I suppose. It's more private than the hospital."

Laguna was still getting used to this new Squall. Before, Squall would have just grunted or something. The new Squall actually left _some_room for conversation. "That's good. Do you know when they'll let you take over again?"

"No." Squall wasn't quite sure that was ever going to happen. Unless he got at least most of his memory back, there was no way. He couldn't re-learn all of it. It was most likely he would find another job.

Laguna glanced at Squall. "Don't look so hopeless. We're going to help you through all this. Me, Micah, Irvine, Selphie, Zell... you've got a lot of people going for you."

Squall nodded hesitantly. "Yeah... okay." He said, unconvinced.

Laguna sighed and placed a hand on Squall's arm. "You're going to be okay, Squall. I can promise you that."

Several hundred seemingly pathetic attempts at conversation later, the father and son arrived in Winhill.

Laguna landed outside of town, where Raine was buried. He looked at Squall. "Come on. I think your mother has been waiting long enough to meet you." He smiled sadly.

"Yeah." Squall stood and followed after the older man.

Laguna led them out to the field where Raine was buried. He made his way to Raine's grave.

Squall stopped just a few feet behind him, feeling out of place. _I don't know him, I don't know her, I don't even know me. I have no right to be here. _This obviously meant a lot to Laguna. He probably didn't get a chance to get out here often, considering how busy his job kept him.

Laguna looked back at his son. "Are you coming?" He asked in concern.

Squall shrugged his indecision.

Laguna walked back to him. "It's alright, Squall. Come on." Laguna picked his way through the grass, keeping pace with Squall.

When they reached Raine's gravestone, Laguna knelt down and touched the stone. "Hey Raine." He said quietly.

Squall stood to the side, wondering why Laguna had asked him to come.

Laguna was silent for a while, then looked up at Squall and smiled. "She would have loved to meet you. She would be so proud of you."

_Well, this is awkward. What should I say?_Squall thought. "What was she like?"

"She was amazing, the most beautiful woman I've ever met. You got all your looks from her. She was kind, but a no nonsense type of person." Laguna said.

Squall nodded. "Like me." It was almost a question.

Laguna chuckled. "Yes, exactly like you."

Squall hesitated to ask something. He wasn't sure Laguna could even answer the question. It had to be better to ask than to take another second of this wretched silence, though. "Do you know if Raine was able to see me before she..." Squall asked haltingly.

All traces of a smile vanished from Laguna's face. "I don't know. You could ask Ellone, but her memory of it is spotty at best."

Squall nodded. He seemed to be doing that a lot as of late.

"I know that if she had the chance, she would have loved you with all her worth. I'm sorry I wasn't able to take care of you. There hasn't been a day of my life that I wish I had gotten there sooner..." Laguna broke off.

"There was nothing you could have done about it. I'm not upset about it." And he wasn't. How could he be upset about a situation he couldn't remember?

It was Laguna's turn to nod. He laughed a little. "Not too long ago, you would have been." Laguna's phone began buzzing. "Duty calls. I guess we should be getting back."

As they walked to the Ragnarok in comfortable silence, Squall realized he was glad he had come.

* * *

**Author's notes**

**_Lartovio: _**_Yay! We finished it! This chapter gave us insane amounts of trouble. We felt like there needed to be some meaningful father/son thing there, but we just couldn't figure it out. I, without Dawn's permission, took and added on the last few paragraphs. Sorry Dawn! And, sorry to all of you guys who waited so long for this! AAAND, thanks to our wonderful reviewers! :D_

**_WayToDawn324: _**_Guess what, we're not dead! Anywho, I hope you like this new chapter, I'm just glad Lartovio and I are past it. Sorry, it took us so long to post again, we got distracted... for a couple of weeks/months. Thanks to all our reviewers, enjoy! :D_


	8. Chapter 8

"So, we may be able to move you to a regular room soon." Micah said with a smile.

"Good. I'm getting tired of seeing white everywhere." Squall said, gesturing to the white walls of the room.

She laughed lightly. "Don't get too excited. Nothing around here is all too colorful." Her smile was short lived.

"What's wrong?" Squall asked, picking up on her unease.

"I was just going to ask how your memory is." She said quietly.

He shrugged. "I still don't remember much, I get bits and pieces of some things, but it's not enough to be called a memory really."

Micah frowned. "Well, I want to try something. I want you to tell me about everything that you remember, and when I'm not around, I want you to write it down."

Squall shrugged. "Alright. Is it supposed to help me remember more?"

"I think it's more to help you not forget again, but it could help you remember too." She gave him a bit of a smile. "Could you go ahead and tell me some now?"

"Sure." Squall thought for a moment, trying to piece things together. He'd learned that trying too hard to remember would give him a serious headache, so he didn't push himself. "I remember how I got my scar."

Micah nodded. She'd heard things about that. Rumors circulated through Garden and eventually made their way into the infirmary, even. This was for his benefit, though, not hers. "Go on."

"I was... fighting with someone. He brought his gunblade down across my face. And I remember doing the same to him." Squall struggled to remember even that small bit.

"Anything else?" Micah asked.

"I was brought to the infirmary afterward, I think I remember Quistis being there..."

"That's really good. I can't say whether or not she actually was there, but she probably was." She smiled. "You're doing really well, Squall."

"Thanks." He smiled.

She smiled back. "Do you remember anything else?"

Squall thought for a moment. "Not really... sorry. The rest of it is just mixed up bits of nothing."

"Don't be sorry, you don't need to push yourself. It'll come back to you."

"I'm beginning to doubt that."

"Don't be such a pessimist." Micah said with a shake of her head. Squall didn't answer. "I'm serious, Squall. Just give it some time. You can't expect all of your memory to come back immediately."

"It's just, it seems like the harder I try to remember something, the more it just slips away."

Micah wished he would stop talking like that. She knew he was never an optimistic man to begin with, but he needed at least an ounce of patience to get through this. "Don't rush it. You'll remember in time. I want to take you to Balamb soon, and see if that will jog your memory any. Oh, and I want to take you clothes shopping." Micah said, getting excited.

Squall raised an eyebrow at that sentence. "Why?"

"Because all the clothes you have are either dark colors or white. It's boring," She said.

"Okay, I guess that's fine..." He answered.

"I mean, you don't have to get rid of all your old clothes or anything. Just, it would be nice if you had a little variety."

Squall shrugged. "Okay, we can go whenever you want to."

Micah grabbed his hand and stood up. "Then we're going right now," she said with an excited grin.

"Now?" Squall asked a bit incredulously.

Micah nodded. "You said whenever!"

"Yeah, but I didn't think you'd want to go so soon."

"Well next time choose your words more carefully!"

Squall groaned. "Fine, let's go." He stood up slowly.

Micah smiled and pulled him out the door.

After Micah shoved Squall into the car, they drove to the nearest department store.

Micah picked through racks and shelves searching for clothes. Squall stood a few feet behind her. "Ooh, this would look good on you!" She held up a dark blue v-neck shirt.

Squall shrugged. "I guess so. But, ah, didn't we come here to put variety in my wardrobe?" He asked with a slight smile.

"True." Micah threw the t-shirt back on the shelf. "Well, I could get you that." She said, pointing at vest type shirt that was made out of faux fur.

Squall looked back and forth between the horrendous article of clothing and Micah's face. She didn't seem to be joking. "I don't exactly think... Let's find something else."

Micah laughed. "I was just kidding, come on." She grabbed his arms and pulled him to another section.

Squall grinned. "Why do I get the feeling that you're just taking whatever opportunity you can to shop?"

She shrugged. "I am only female!"

Fifteen minutes later she had collected an armload of clothing for Squall to try on. He insisted he didn't need to try it all on, but Micah insisted that he did. She shoved him into a dressing room and told him that she was going to be off getting more clothes.

"More clothes?" Squall asked.

Micah nodded and pushed him into the dressing room, pulling the curtains closed. She walked back to the racks of clothing and began rifling through them.

"Shopping for your husband?"

Micah whirled around to face another woman going through the clothes. "No! Uh, no. He's just a friend. It's a rather long story really."

The woman nodded. "My apologies."

Micah smiled at her, then turned and continued her shopping. She started to walk back to the dressing room Squall was occupying. She didn't notice at first that the woman was following her, but as soon as she did she veered off her course, pretending to be excited by an article of clothing to her left. This had to be another attacker.

Micah inconspicuously looked through the racks, not attracting too much attention from the follower. What do I do? I can't go back to Squall. Her mind was racing. He's going to come out any second now anyway. And it isn't as if I can just attack this person... In her frenzy, she knocked several shirts off the rack. The woman came to help her pick them up. "I'm a klutz." Micah muttered, keeping an eye on her. As soon as she bent over to help, her jacket shifted to show a handgun on her waist.

Micah stood quickly, scanning the dressing room area for Squall. She spotted him walking toward where she had last been. The only thing she could think to do was to warn him. "Squall!" She shouted. She turned back to the woman, who was reaching for the gun at her waist. As an instinct, she kicked her wrist. There was a crack that Micah took as assurance that her wrist was broken. She then vaulted over a clothing rack and ran for Squall.

In the short seconds she had looked away, another attacker had grabbed Squall and held a knife to his neck. Micah stopped dead in her tracks.

"Now, don't worry, this won't cause him too much pain." The man said sadistically.

Micah met Squall's eyes, and for the first time since the accident on the Ragnarok, she saw that dangerous glint in his eyes. He elbowed his captor in the gut and grabbed the arm that held the knife, twisting him around and kicking him in the back. The man hit the ground with a grunt of pain.

Squall allowed himself to be stunned by his actions only a moment before quickly covering the distance between him and Micah. "Looks like it's time to go." He grabbed her hand and they both broke into a run for the exit.

Micah shouted and pulled Squall around a corner as the woman opened fire. "We really need to get out of here!"

"You think I don't know that!"

They both made for the exit, ducking behind displays and shelves to dodge bullets. Squall's forgotten SeeD training seemed to be kicking in. And for those few minutes, he was himself again.

The exit was in sight when a bullet clipped Micah's leg. Squall jerked the hand he was holding in his own to keep her from hitting the ground too hard then pulled her behind a register.

"Squall, they're just trying to get to you, you've got to get out of here." She said firmly.

"I won't leave you here." He said just as firmly.

Micah tried to warn him as a knife cut through the air. She was too late, though. It pierced his shoulder and he winced.

Squall mentally cursed himself for ever stopping. He pulled the knife out and dropped it to the ground. With one swift move, he picked up Micah and threw her over his uninjured shoulder. Micah squeaked and grabbed at his shirt.

He managed to make it out the door, but stumbled and fell at the curb. His stamina was not what it should be. His head was spinning and throbbing, and he was sure that his shoulder was bleeding rapidly.

It was Micah's turn to pull herself to her feet and get Squall standing. She drew a small pistol out of her purse and took aim at the door. A crowd of panicked shoppers flooded out, so she clicked the safety back on and shoved it in her jeans pocket. "Come on Squall, the car is just over here." Squall gripped her arm tightly, she wasn't sure if she was supporting him or if he was supporting her.

Even though they had left the assailants behind, they rushed to the car as quickly as they could. Micah drove, since she trusted her thoughts to be clear even though she was injured. Once they were on the main roads, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and tossed it at Squall.

"Call Irvine." She ordered.

"Why?"

"Now, Squall! Tell him what happened and tell him to meet us outside Garden with a medic."

Squall just sighed and dialed Irvine.

Irvine picked up on the first ring. "Hey Mi-"

"Irvine," Squall interrupted.

"Squall? Is everything okay?"

"Micah and I were attacked at the mall. We're okay, for the most part, we're on the way back. Micah wants you waiting outside-"

"With a weapon and a medic." Micah said.

"-With a weapon and a medic."

"Got it. Be careful." The line went dead after that.

The next ten minutes were filled with honking car horns, screeching tires, and running red lights. Suddenly, Squall was very impressed with Laguna's ability to weave through traffic without ever dipping below forty miles an hour.

By the time Micah pulled up to Garden and stopped the car with a jerk, Irvine had gathered a small army. He and three other armed people stood out front, along with half of Micah's medical staff.

Squall opened the door and walked around the car to help Micah out. His head had stopped spinning after only a few minutes in the car, but Micah had still been shot in the leg.

He opened Micah's door and had her wrap an arm around his shoulders, he held her up by her waist and started to walk her over to the medical staff.  
Micah limped and stumbled as they walked, having to rely on Squall mostly to do most of the work.

The med team had quickly ran over to Micah and Squall, they took Micah and helped her onto a gurney. As they wheeled her away, Squall walked alongside her.

"Hey, you guys alright?" Squall looked up and saw Irvine next to him.

He nodded slightly. "Yeah, I'm okay."

Micah nodded.

"What happened? You scared the crap out of me. I had no idea what to expect. For all I knew you... Well, I was ready for the worst."

"We were attacked by a woman with a gun and a man with knives. Squall took a knife in the shoulder and I was shot in the leg," Micah explained shortly.

Irvine shook his head. "I'm going to tell Quistis to put extra guards out.

They entered the medical wing and one medic tried to take Squall to his room to patch him up, but he said he was following Micah. He knew she wasn't hurt that badly, but he needed to make sure she was okay. When he reappeared beside her seconds later, she looked up at him and frowned.

"Squall, you need to let them clean that up. I'm serious."

"I'm alright." He replied.

"Your shirt is covered in blood." Micah pointed out.

Squall shrugged as if it was no big deal. As a medic fixed Micah up, she reached over and slipped her hand into his and he accepted it. After he was sure Micah was okay, Squall allowed the medics to patch up his shoulder.

"Is he okay?!" A frantic voice shouted.

Squall looked up and saw Laguna.

"Laguna, calm down!" Irvine yelled at the older man.

I guess news travels fast in Garden... And Laguna travels faster, Squall thought.

"He's right over there." Irvine pointed at Squall.

"Are you alright?!" The older man asked.

"Yes. I'm fine."

"How can you be so calm? You got stabbed in the shoulder!" Laguna gave his son a critical once-over.

Squall sighed. "Technically, I wasn't stabbed. They threw the knife."

Laguna didn't seem comforted by the information. "You got stabbed indirectly."

Irvine snorted.

Squall couldn't help the little smile that tugged at his lips. "Okay, I was stabbed. But I'm still alive. Micah's fine too, thanks for asking."

Laguna gave Squall a look. "That's not fair, I wasn't told she was there."

"You thought Squall escaped all by himself?" Micah called from where she sat at her desk.

Squall frowned. "Well it wasn't by your doing that guy ended up on the ground."

"Children, play nice." Irvine said, leaning against the wall with a playful smirk. "From how I heard it, Micah saved Squall's butt, then her own, then Squall saved his, then Micah's. So you're even."

Micah scoffed and Squall shrugged.

"So, somebody's obviously still after Squall." Laguna said.

"Yeah, but what I want to know, is how the attackers know that Micah and Squall were going to be at the the mall unless they followed them from the very beginning." Irvine said suspiciously.

"Irvine, are you accusing somebody in SeeD of working with whoever is after Squall?" Micah asked almost angrily.

"That or the person that's after Squall is part of SeeD," Irvine answered honestly.

"That would mean he's not even safe here in Garden anymore," Laguna cut in.

Squall sighed. "Great..."

"Looks like we're gonna have to relocate you, buddy." Irvine placed a hand on Squall's shoulder.

"Where to though?" Laguna asked.

"Hm... good question..." Irvine said.

"How about the Presidential Palace? You have plenty of security there." Micah suggested.

"Hey! That's an idea!" Laguna smiled.

Irvine shrugged. "I don't know. No offence, but the security there is probably not as good as SeeD's. Even if it is, everytime he goes somewhere he'll be in danger."

Laguna deflated. "That's true."

Micah winced before she even let her thought out. "I'm almost sorry for suggesting this, but what if we just didn't let him go anywhere until this is taken care of? I mean, SeeD does this sort of stuff all the time. We'll get a team on this and it should be resolved in under a month!"

"Not if the head of all this works in SeeD, or has a lot of connections."

"Then what are we supposed to do!" Micah shouted exasperatedly. "You've shot down both my ideas so far. What's your master scheme, oh wise one?"

Irvine chuckled. "I don't have one. You guys are the idea people, I'm the idea critic."

Squall shook his head. "Since when?"

"Since you all seem to be coming up with terrible ideas." Irvine said shortly.

Micah looked like she was about to beat Irvine's brains out. "Calm down, Micah," she muttered to herself.

Squall did his best to suppress an amused smile. "How about we just continue with our current setup for now, and deal with all this tomorrow?"

"What..." Micah trailed off as she caught sight of the clock, which read nine p.m. It wasn't all that late, but being early to bed couldn't hurt after the day she'd had. "Yeah, maybe we'll all think better with some sleep. President Loire, do you have a ride home?"

"Seriously, just Laguna." He huffed. "I've got a ride, thanks."

"Watch out. I don't want whoever is after me to hurt you. I think they tried to do that to Rinoa." Squall said, a bit of a confused look on his face.

Micah realized that meant he was trying to remember something. "They did. I was in your dorm when she called you."

Irvine raised an eyebrow at this.

Laguna smiled brightly at Squall's remembering, but didn't say anything. "Yeah, I'll be careful. And I'll be in touch tomorrow about staying at the palace."

Irvine left soon after Laguna did. "See ya tomorrow. Get some rest."

Squall leaned back in his chair and sighed.

Micah very carefully walked across the room and sat in the chair next to Squall. "It's good that you're starting to remember things. Hopefully, that means you're on the road to recovery. Maybe we'll have our Commander back yet." She smiled brightly.

Squall gave her a small smile back. "Maybe."

* * *

**_Author's Notes!_**

**_WayToDawn324:_** _And... WE ARE BACK. Hello. Sorry for taking so long to update. We got kinda caught up in other things and yeah... ANYWAY, thanks for all the reviews we really appreciate it. :) We'll try to update sooner next time. Enjoy!_

_**Lartovio:** I AM SORRY! We must be the worst fanfiction authors ever. We sorta just... forgot. :| Thank you to those who have patiently awaited the next chapter, and MezmerizeGF for the review that reminded us to continue. *hugs reviewer* I hope this rather long (TEN PAGES) chapter was to all you guys' liking, and we'll see you whenever the next time we update is :P_

**_Shameless Advertisement!_**

_**WayToDawn324:** So... if you'd like to read a nice little fanfic about a poor Axel person having to move in with a control freak Uncle Genesis, please go check out my other fanfic A Year In Hell._

_**Lartovio:** If any of you guys are Spider-Man fans, pwetty pwease check out my story, Aftermath, of which the tenth chapter will be posted later this week!_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

The next morning, Squall was awaken rudely by an angry Micah. She ordered him to get dressed and left the room. He came out of his room, once dressed, and was promptly grabbed by the arm and dragged off down the hallways of E-Garden.

"Hey! Maybe if you could _not_," he yanked her hand off his arm, "pull me by that arm?"

Micah gave him a strained face and an even thinner apology as she proceeded to take him by the other hand and walk as quickly as before.

"What's going on again?" Squall asked once the doors of an elevator slid shut.

"Meeting to figure out what to do with you," Micah said irately.

"Oh, okay." _Meeting to figure out what to do with me. It sounds like I'm a misbehaving child._

The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside, not too pleased to find everybody else had already arrived.

"It's about time you two got here," Irvine groaned.

Micah sat and pulled Squall into a seat beside her. "Maybe if you hadn't waited to tell me 'til the last minute we would've gotten here sooner." Micah answered shortly.

The cowboy just gave a sheepish smirk in response.

Cid, who had arrived that morning, cleared his throat. "Now that we're all here, we should get this meeting underway."

"We're here to discuss the multiple attempts on Commander Leonhart's life, the first of which resulted in his loss of memory, and the second of which resulted in the injury of both him and Doctor Wright."

As Cid sat down, Micah jumped to her feet. "Sir, Irvine and I believe that somebody in SeeD may be responsible for the attacks against Squall. They couldn't have possibly known we would be out unless they followed us there from Garden." After she finished, she sat back down.

"Who all did you tell before leaving?" Cid questioned.

"Nobody. I was off duty, so we just left."

"So they've been watching you..." Cid said thoughtfully. "We need to get Squall out of Garden, if that is the case."

Irvine nodded. "Headmaster, we thought maybe the presidential palace would be a good place?"

Micah kicked Irvine underneath the table, giving him a glare that clearly said. _"Oh, it was your idea?"_

If Cid noticed the glaring match going on between Irvine and Micah, he didn't say anything. "That may be the safest place for him at the moment. President Loire, what do you say?"

Laguna thought about it for a moment, refusing to meet the eyes of anybody in the room. "Squall would be welcome at the presidential palace." Laguna said calmly. "If this is what's going to happen, I'll call Kiros and have him increase security."

Cid nodded. "We would have to take extreme precautions. He'll not be allowed to leave the palace, and see people only under the strictest guard, or not at all, even."

Squall didn't like what was going on at all. Nobody had addressed him directly and _asked_ what he thought. They were determining where to put him as if he was a criminal sentenced to prison. He was given no chance for input.

Laguna nodded slowly. "That seems safest. This will be temporary, correct?"

"Yes. As soon as we have the situation under control, Commander Leonhart will be free to stay where he pleases."

"It's settled then, you are all dismissed." Cid then turned to Squall. "Gather any items you wish to take with you, you leave tonight."

Squall nodded and stood.

The other officials in the room left quickly, returning to their jobs. Micah hung back until Squall left, walking out beside him.

"I'm sorry you have to go," she said quietly.

"It isn't your fault. In fact, I would be dead several times over if it weren't for you."

Micah smiled. "Hey, I could've died too. We were lucky your SeeD instincts managed to show themselves."

Squall frowned. "I still don't understand. I felt like a completely different person, I was on autopilot. I didn't like it either."

"Why?" Micah asked curiously.

He shook his head. "I don't know. When that guy attacked me, and I just... I just reacted. I could have broken his arm, or something else, doing what I did. And I didn't even have to think about it." The thought that he was a highly functioning killing machine, and he didn't have to think about it, made him shudder.

"Being a SeeD can be like that, you have to be able to react as fast as possible. Especially when there's somebody trying to hurt you, your team, or your employer. You did it in self defense. Don't let it bother you." Micah reached out and squeezed his hand.

They stopped in front of his dorm.

"Better get your stuff together, you'll be leaving soon." Micah hesitated for a moment before quickly kissing Squall on the cheek. "I'll miss you."

Squall raised an eyebrow at her, and her eyes widened to the size of plates.

"Oh Hyne, Squall, um-"

Squall put an arm around her waist, a hand on the back of her head, and his lips to her own. He didn't even care that several other people probably saw.

Micah stiffened for a moment, but soon relaxed and kissed him back tenderly before pulling away. "Hm, you're a better kisser than I would've thought," She murmured with a satisfied smirk.

He suppressed a smile and flushed pink instead.

Micah giggled. "Now you need to go get packed! No more procrastinating."

"Okay." Squall smiled slightly as Micah walked away.

He went into dorm and closed the door behind him.

Squall sighed as he looked around the dorm, unpacked boxes were lined against the walls. _Where do I start? _ he thought. _It really isn't as if I need to pack anything. But I don't think I'll need all of these boxes._

Squall sat on the floor beside an unopened box, and carefully removed the tape.

Clothes were packed neatly into the box. _Well, I guess I'll need these..._ He taped the box back up and pulled another one forward.

Ripping the tape off, Squall looked inside. Blankets lined the bottom and books were on top. He sifted through the books. He grabbed a bag and put a couple of books in it. _Can't imagine there's much else I really need or want..._

There was a knock on the door.

Squall stood up and answered it. Quistis was the one standing behind it. "Hello Squall."

Squall was confused. He'd only seen Quistis once since his memory had been lost, and she hadn't seemed very thrilled to see him. Why would she be visiting? Nevertheless, he opened the door wider and motioned for her to come in.

She stepped in and looked around the room briefly. "Cid requested that I tell you that you're leaving in two hours. Somebody will come to escort you to the Ragnarok."

"Thank you for letting me know."

Quistis nodded. "How are you feeling?" she asked stiffly.

"Fine, I guess. Haven't remembered much if that's what you mean." Squall said.

"I'm sure it'll come back to you."

Squall nodded.

"Well, I best be going. I hope we'll have you back soon, Squall." Quistis swiftly left the dorm.

Squall ended up packing his laptop, which he found buried in clothing, plenty of clothes, a few books, and a notebook and pens. That night, he was escorted to the Presidential Palace in the quickest and stealthiest way possible.

He was greeted by security at the door, who proceeded to take his phone, rummage through all his other things, take apart his pens and put them back together, search through some of the contents of his laptop (most of which was password protected, some by passwords that Squall himself didn't know), and eventually led him to a nicely furnished apartment-looking room with a kitchenette, small bedroom, and large television and sofa in the main area. The room had no windows, and the doors were locked behind him.

Suddenly, Squall felt trapped and alone. More alone than he could remember feeling.

He went into the bedroom and sat down on the bed. _What now?_ he thought.

He heard the front door open, ad a second later, a familiar voice called out. "Squall?"

Squall stood and rushed into the main area of the suite.

"Ah, there you are!" Laguna grinned. He saw Laguna stuff a set of keys in his pocket. "How do you like the place?"

_It's stuffy, restricted, and locked on the outside! How do I like it? I hate it!_ Squall swallowed his nasty comments and nodded slowly instead. "It... It, ah, it's nice. Great view," he deadpanned.

Laguna laughed. That was what he liked about the new Squall, he wasn't afraid to act human sometimes.

"Alright, lemme tell you how it's all going to go down. You'll have a kitchen that's fully stocked at all times, in case you'd like to cook, and if you don't, a special group of chefs have been singled out and have been run through a full background check. They're totally at your command. There's TV, with every channel that could possibly be picked up from our location. There are phones in the room that are virtually untraceable, and weapons stashed freakin' all over the place." Laguna then led him through the apartment and showed him the pistol between the mattresses, the pistol underneath the bathroom sink, the pistol in the cabinet above the Fridge, the pistol under the couch cushions, and the pistol in a hidden drawer underneath the small desk that Squall had failed to notice earlier.

"There's also an intercom that goes straight to my office, and one that goes to security. My cell and office phone numbers are taped to that lamp over there, as well as trusted carry-out places. I'm actually gonna have to sneak those by security... easier said than done. Anyway, just tell me if you ever need anything!"

Squall nodded shortly. "Yeah... thanks."

Laguna's happy exterior seemed to slip for a moment. "Hey, are you going to be alright in here?"

He shrugged. "Whether I say yes or no, I'm still gonna be stuck in here."

Laguna sighed. "I'm sorry that you have to be holed up in here. I know it would drive me mad in a matter of minutes." He hesitated for a moment, thinking about something, then stomped over to the telephone. He pulled his phone out and read a number off of it, copying it onto a piece of paper there. "I'm really, _really_ not supposed to let you have contact with anyone outside the place... but it's not fair that you should be cut off from someone we know we can trust. Just make sure she doesn't let anyone else know we're talking, okay?"

Laguna slipped his phone back into his pocket and made for the door. "I have things to wrap up, sorry I can't keep you company right now. I'll see you later!" Laguna shut the door, and the lock clicked behind him.

Walking to where the paper had been left, he saw the name Micah, and a number scribbled out on the paper.

Squall sighed lightly and fell back into a nearby chair. _I better get my memories back soon. I don't think I can take being locked in here for long._

* * *

_**Author's Notes!**_

_**Lartovio: **__We wrote this FOREVERAGO, and just didn't post it.__Sorry! And Dawn is lying. She is lying for your comfort. We probably won't upload much sooner than this next time :P But seriously, poor Squall. I mean, it's ultimately for his best, but this is just sad. But at least he and Laguna will get to spend some time together! I hope you enjoyed the chapter even though you had to wait forever for it!_

_**WaytoDawn324: **__Hey, we're alive. Isn't it amazing?! :) I know we say this everytime, but we'll make sure to update sooner next time. And... LONELY DEPRESSED SQUALL. It's so sad. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter._


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